the Forest

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

Dameon Black Alt

Lydia and Ashigaera moved swiftly through the forest, their movement graceful especially for Ashigaera, they moved along the path they started to see signs of blood, and wasn’t long before they found the place where Kalani was saved at and started looking around, not finding much in the way of anything other than the mess “over here” Ashigaera shouted, Lidia looked in her direction and walked over to where she was finding a somewhat intact body and both sighing in relief that they weren’t wearing anything that was related to the current state of affair, though the hunters did find themselves in an unfortunate place which put them in the sights of a bear and horses. Lidia looked at Ashigaera and sighed “well that’s one less thing to worry about, what do you think?” Ashigaera nodded though her eyes were somewhat on the ground and walked over to where the biggest paws appeared and looked seeing smaller one’s as well, pointing in a particular direction “she came in from the south east it seems, her trail leads that way” Lidia looked at where the tail went and sighed “well that’s a start at least, come on let’s get back before we are missed” Ashigaera nodded and followed after Lidia as they walked back.

As they returned to the castle the sound of gunfire caught their attention which had them standing there a moment to identify the direction of the shot, when more came they darted in that direction. As they ran, the shots started to get louder and louder until they could see the flashes. Lidia looked at Ashigaera both were already thinking the same thing as Ashigaera’s crystals glowed. The Soldiers fired at Griz with desperation they were panicked that they weren’t putting the massive bear down, more they already had casualties. They were starting the get their act together when spikes of ice out of the ground at them most of them being impaled, the survivors scattered as they tried to stay out of reach of the bear. Lidia came out of nowhere her sword drawn as she cut deep into the chest of one soldier, Ashigaera having formed a pair of daggers caught another one by surprise when she slipped through his legs cutting both of them at the knee forcing him to his knees, Ashigaera spun around throwing one of the daggers which hit him in the back killing him immediately, soon after disappearing.

Lidia and Ashigaera moved swiftly trying to box the soldier’s in as Griz moved on them, when something unexpected occurred, a throwing knife flew towards Lidia and barely having a chance to parry it out of the way. A woman nonchalantly walked towards them and simply spoke up in a clear voice “everyone leave I’ll handle this” the soldiers heard her and simply scattered as they took off. Lien kept walking her eyes were hollow almost like she wasn’t herself she approached the foe with a calmness that bordered on deathly calm, her eyes were fixed on her prey as she drew both of her swords and rushed forward towards Lidia who barely had time to block the attack as both blades sparked on hers Ashigaera stepped back staying well out of the way a moment as her crystals glowed once again preparing to attack the first opening she got, but the opening wasn’t coming and it was quickly becoming apparent that Lidia was being overwhelmed her attacks hitting air as she attempted to strike and missing the foe before her moving quickly and only slightly being able to block every strike from both swords that came at her, she was dancing a dance of blades and admittedly she wasn’t even sure how this fight was going to end without help knowing that Ashigaera was waiting for an opening but struggling to give it to her.


Voss nodded as he listened to Morrigan and just smiled at her words and nodded “no problem, it’s quite alright, I did pick up on your scent and the issue you were having, sounds like an imbalance, neither side of you is willing to work as one. Being a hybrid admittedly wasn’t easy to adjust to but then again, I had help adjusting to a life as a hybrid.” Voss continued to sit there watching her as he continued “but don’t let that get to you to much, just need the right teacher to help you balance the two half’s which will eventually allow you to control a lot of your own strength as a hybrid and whatever benefits you’ve picked up as a result of having demon blood in you” Voss had to wonder just how bad her problems were and whether or not he could help or not.  

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

The bear took down one last soldier then heard the swordfight and moved instantly between the women, his large body shoving Lydia towards Ashigaera. He took some nasty slices from the other female but managed to get her with one large paw, knocking her out. He gave one more bellow as the rest of the soldiers ran even harder.

But Griz knew he was at his end for the moment. He shifted and dropped to his knees, barely catching himself with one arm over the strange woman as he gasped for air. He was cut up and shot in numerous places, but knew he'd survive it.

He turned to Lydia and Ashigaera as they ran over to him, "I can smell it on her... She needs a soul healer... I just need rest..." he gasped out to them, knowing that they'd have no problem with getting them back to the castle as Kana came out of the trees with two mares following him, "You two take one of the mares, put her on one... Kana is the only one that can carry me..." he said as the stallion laid down beside him.

He freely admitted that it took more work than he liked for him to get onto the stallion, "Take it easy, Kana... Not exactly comfortable for me like this... But get us to the castle, my friend," he said softly, watching as the women managed to get the stranger over the back of the other mare.

He looked at them as Lydia got onto the first mare, "I'll need help when we get back..." he paused there for a moment, "Again..." he had to add it for honesty then continued, "But we have to figure out a way to stop these attacks... I may be big, I may heal very well... But I'm not enjoying getting shot like this... It makes me grumpy..." he finished with a growl as the horses started moving.

He was planning on getting his clothes on the way in, of course. He just hoped that he didn't pass out... Although it was becoming a good possibility as they got closer to the castle...  

[Dameon Black Alt]

Wolfe Garm

Morrigan simply shrugged as Voss commented on the fact that neither side of her was willing to work as one. "You've picked up on that pretty much perfectly," she said. "My wolf seems to have some pretty serious issues with me and my demon, and I can't seem to make myself cooperate with my demon." She shook her head again. "I can barely even feel my demonic side at all. I can generally feel what my wolf thinks and feels, but I can't really feel much of anything from my demonic side. I don't know how to connect to them the way I need to."

She went silent for a moment as she thought about things. "I don't really have anyone who can teach me. There might be some people at the castle who could do it, but they all have their own things going on. I don't want to bother them." She took another deep breath. "I can't make myself ask anyone for help. I don't really know how to do it. Ever since I lost my parents, I've been the one who had to keep it all together. I had to take care of my sister. I had to help my sister's Mate raise their daughter after my sister died. I had to take care of my niece when her father died. I had to do everything on my own. How could I ever know how to ask for or accept help after everything?" The air around them grew a bit colder as Morrigan's magic acted up a bit. The block on her power stopped her from freezing everything around her, but it seemed that her emotions could still cause a bit of a drop in temperature.

 

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

Dameon Black Alt

Voss shook his head “well I can’t say too much for your situation, but coming from experience seldom does the taint of demon blood ever really cooperate, being a hybrid in this fashion isn’t really something that is easily tapped into, and admittedly I doubt any of the others would deny that it took them a while to really understand what it was they really had. Hell being a hybrid is an ongoing lesson about oneself, we cohabitate with the blood we have, but even years down the road even I don’t have a full grasp on my own capabilities, I understand what I have, I can feel some of what it is I have but even I don’t know just how far my strength will go, can only continue working at it and continue to learn from it” Voss sat there a moment longer as he considered his options and considering her predicament and the fact that there really wasn’t anyone else on the island that likely could probably help her he simply looked into her eyes and spoke up again “listen, I can help you, I don’t doubt that there are people here that likely could help with one aspect or the other, but you’ll only be getting hurt without understanding how to bring everything to bare and not hurt anyone while you’re at it” he was taking a big risk but something told him he needed to do this, if nothing else he could bring her back to the mainland with him whenever things were such that the stability of the island is no longer viable, and considering the operation getting ready to launch she would inevitably become a casualty in another man’s war without the help anyway, and if nothing else he could always integrate her into RRT later when hiding her potential was no longer possible.



Lidia was incredibly grateful for the assistance from Griz and was quick to seeing the woman who had attacked her noting the RRT patch on her clothes and suspected that this was another one of them. When the horses came Lidia nodded as she got the woman onto the horse making sure her swords were put away and secured on the horse before Ashigaera got on with her allowing Lidia to take the other mare.

They rushed back with all due haste briefly parting ways with Griz so that he could… make himself presentable at the castle and arrived at the stables in short order. Lidia got down from the saddle and walked over to Ashigaera and the unknown woman “how’s she doing?” Ashigaera shrugged “hard to say, amazed she’s still alive after a hit like that” Lidia nodded in agreement as Ashigaera got down and looked passed the horses in time to see a couple of staff coming over “Ladies give me a hand, would you?” they both looked at each other slightly confused and then came over to see the unconscious woman on the horse by Lidia “get help to take her down to Sebastet’s special room for now, don’t have any place to take her that would be secured enough to handle a potential hybrid” they both nodded “of course we’ll get a couple of the men to help us” one of them darted inside to get a few pairs of hands while the other one looked after the woman. Lidia and Ashigaera stood off to the side to wait for Griz to catch back up with them before they figured out what they were going to do.  

[Dameon Black Alt]

Wolfe Garm

Morrigan was silent as she listened to Voss speak. "Hearing that even you don't quite have a full grasp on your abilities after such a long time makes me feel a bit better," she commented. "It makes me feel like less of a failure, I guess. But I won't be able to keep things up like this forever. I'll need to figure out a way to get a grip on things eventually."

She was a bit surprised when Voss looked into her eyes and said that he could help her. She definitely wasn't expecting him to offer his help in dealing with her problems. She thought about things for a moment. "I do need help if I'm going to pull myself together. And you're right that it's unlikely that anyone here could truly give me the exact type of help that I need. I do need what you can offer." She looked down at her hands, noting that the golden tone of her skin was becoming a bit richer. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold on too much longer. "I won't be able to do much until this is sorted out. Even the slightest thing will set me off at this point." She trailed off a bit, but her tone was clearly lacking confidence. In her own way, she was offering him a chance to back out of his offer to help, since helping would require dealing with her heat first.

 

[Wolfe Garm]

Dameon Black Alt

Voss listened to her and looked at the wrist computer on his left forearm and checked it briefly noting that no new orders came come down from command, and simply switched it off for the time being before he stood up and looked at her offering a hand “well if I’m going to be helping you with everything, we’ll best be getting out of here” he looked around a moment as he thought for a moment but continued “if you have someplace we can go we can go there otherwise you’ll have to go with me to the mainland where I can take you to my home” he smiled warmly as he stood there his hand still being offered, but he had to wonder just what she would do, the coloration in her skin was pronounce to say the least and wondered if taking her back to her place on the mainland was perhaps the best option on the table, at least at home he could utilize resources he might not have otherwise, and helping her through this would be more comfortable at his house.  

[Dameon Black Alt]

Wolfe Garm

Morrigan watched Voss interact with the device on his wrist for a moment and then took his offered hand to stand up. She felt a shiver pass through her the moment her skin touched his, but she managed to keep herself under control. She listened to what he said and took a moment to think about it. "I may have somewhere we could go," she said softly, debating if it would be a good idea to offer up her room in the tower. "I'm not sure if it would be the best place, though. I share a suite with my niece. We could go there, but it would involve going through the castle and possibly running into people along the way."

She knew that following him to wherever would be most convenient was probably the best option for her. In the brief time they'd known each other, it had become quite clear that he was the best option she had for help regarding her demonic side. But something was nagging at her, keeping her from fully giving in to what she needed. She looked him over again, reconsidering the weaponry and equipment she'd seen on him so far. It took a moment, but she finally managed to voice what was bothering her. "Something that you said before is bothering me a bit. You said that RRT's job is to handle problems too big for everyone else." She met his eyes. "Why is RRT on this island? What problem are you handling?"

 

[Wolfe Garm]

Dameon Black Alt

Voss watched her as she spoke and nodded when she mentioned someplace, they could go and was about to speak when she continued and just shook his head when she was done “me nothing, i’m not here at any official capacity, why is RRT here? hard to say since I’m not in the need to know, could be eventually if my expertise is ever needed for any reason” saying that Voss knew it wasn’t likely unless it was mission critical, and as far as he knew this op didn’t require or would ever require his skillset since he tended to work behind the scene.

Voss continued as he stood there his posture relaxed as he looked at Morrigan “and I’m not too worried about running into people, so if you feel comfortable being at this place, I’ve no issues with it” He smiled warmly as he made sure his rifle was comfortably slung on his shoulder his equipment on his back wasn’t shifting all that much.  

[Dameon Black Alt]

Wolfe Garm

Morrigan listened to what Voss had to say, considering his words carefully. She wasn't sure how to feel about what he told her, not comforted by the knowledge that he didn't know why RRT was on the island. She didn't know why, but the idea of the group being on the island for some unknown reason made her feel nervous. She wondered what she should do, but her train of thought quickly derailed as her need took full control.

Morrigan shivered as her skin turned to a molten shade of gold, her red hair almost glowing. She grinned a bit, holding out a hand for him to take. When she spoke again, her voice seemed far more confident and alluring. "Come along then. I've been assured that no one will judge me for needing to fulfill my needs, so I won't be concerned about being seen leading you there. And just to make sure that things won't be awkward later, I'll ensure that we won't be bothered once we get there." She waited for him to take her hand, her golden skin actually putting off a fair amount of heat now. Once he took her hand, she would simply start towards the castle, all hesitation completely stripped away as her demonic side took over.

 

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

Veresia nods and follows Griz to the path so that they could meet up with the horses his family had brought in, all the while wondering how safe the village was with the current threat to the island here and baring down on them all. As they approached the horses Veresia finally spoke up “if I didn’t know any better it seems to me like the church is aiming to destroy the inhabitants of this island” the buildings that had been shot up was a clear indication of that fact and looked at Griz “makes me wonder in what state the island will be in when the fighting is over and the threat sent back to where it came” she was speaking idly at this point, her orders wouldn’t change any because of the threat to the island, if anything it got the gears turning in her mind trying to figure out how much of an impact she could make on minimizing the potential damage to the island but suspected that it was going to be more difficult to do that than not. As they stood there she finally cleared her head resigning to the fact that at the moment she was going to have to see where event would go and watched to see what Griz was going to do.  

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

Griz saddled one of the larger mares then passed the reigns over to Veresia before doing the same with Kana for himself. He got up in the saddle and waited for the demon to do the same. He simply started leading the way for the rest of the herd, occasionally turning to look at the herd of mares behind them to make sure that they didn't stray from the Path.

Finally, he looked at Veresia for a moment then looked back at the Path ahead of them, "It's a Cleansing... They'll take down everyone on this island and raze everything here to the ground. They'll probably even send in a special priest to salt the ground. I've seen it before," he explained to her, already able to see the pattern as it was unfolding.

He'd seen it before. He'd helped with the funeral pyres. Then he'd... Well... There was a reason that his family was sending the horses here... And he had a feeling that the rest of the bears were coming as well... He had a feeling that he knew what was coming...

He rubbed at his stomach a bit and winced when his hand moved over one of the slices he'd gotten from the conditioned female and frowned as he considered her for a moment, "And it may not be just the ones on this island... There may be others that they're planning on Cleansing... I could be wrong, but somehow I don't think I am..." he said very softly, considering it for another moment before shaking his head and checking the herd behind them again.

He looked like a natural as he rode Kana, as if the stallion had been made for him. In all honesty, Pops had actually bred the stallion for the size and intelligence to run this herd and to carry Griz. It had been on purpose, though Griz was never told that.

Add to the look the long leather coat he always wore and he certainly looked like a total badass as he turned back to look at the pathway ahead of them.

"To be honest with you... I don't generally trust Demons... I've been attacked, I've had my family attacked... Not all demons are good, after all... I know there are good and bad everywhere. I know that. But you guys can do damage that others can't. Last time.... I think it's why Pops sent me here... But last time... Last time they took down the school while the kids were in it..." he told her part of it, but wasn't sure about telling her the rest just yet.

He finally took in a deep breath, frowning when the cuts pulled in the process. He was feeling grumpier... He needed to eat again...

"But to prevent another massacre like that... I'll even work with some of you... Just don't panic if I have some adverse reactions... Especially if one of you gets aggressive with me..." he offered, hoping that she wouldn't have an adverse reaction to what he had to say.

Of course, seeing his bear form might help with aggression issues, but one never really knew in the end...  

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

As they moved through the Forest with the horses Veresia listened to what Griz said and understood his distaste for demons, seems some of the traitors or banished had crossed paths with his family and caused trouble for him and his family. For a time she didn’t say anything as they moved but finally she spoke up “I’m sorry for what happened, my legion doesn’t leave the realm very often, and our garage caused trouble for you, had I known we might have been able to deal with the problem before it became yours, for that I apologize” She was being very sincere with her words. She was about to continue but something ahead of them caught her attention, walking towards them Ashigaera was on her way to the village and waved at them. As they got closer to each other Ashigaera spoke up “On your way to bring in the next group of horses to the castle? If you could leave the paperwork on Lidia’s desk and I’ll take care of it when I get back to the castle” She smiled widely as she stepped to the side so that she wouldn’t get in the way.  

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

Griz did pause when they came across Ashigaera and considered her for a moment before turning to look at the herd and calling out to one near the back, "Salla! Come give the little one a ride. She'll bring you back to the castle when she's done!" he called out, one of the mares peeling off to stand next to Ashigaera.

He looked down at the fae with a shrug of one shoulder, "That should be better than walking. Certainly faster," he commented, "Salla will take care of you and we'll see you sooner that way. And hopefully that healer of yours has gotten herself out of trouble and can check on me later," he added as he started the horses moving again, not really giving her a chance to reply.

As they moved past and headed on down the pathway, he looked at Veresia again briefly, "We did send the 'remains' of our attackers back tot he demon realm after each attack. No idea what the king did with them, but we did get the 'suggestion' to come here after the last one. And I was sent a blade. No idea what it meant, but it is a durable piece," he told her, revealing that Lareth had given him a blade just like the one Sebastet had offered her. Of course, Lareth hadn't told him what it meant, but he'd given it to the bear after the last attack...

Griz rubbed at his belly again and wondered if he could get a meal sent to his room again. The last one had been adequate enough... But he needed to eat and rest a bit more to heal those slices a bit more, maybe finish healing the worst bullet wounds. He was starting to feel really grumpy again...

Thankfully, the end of the Path was in sight, along with the castle on the hill. He really did want to settle for a little bit...  

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

Ashigaera nodded her thanks to them as they left taking note of the horse who stood with her and with a little effort on her part got onto the back of the horse and continued on down to the village to see the leathersmith. Veresia was surprised by the fact that he had a blade like the one Sebastet had and wondered what he did to earn such a weapon “that’s such a nice weapon to be bestowed on you, the remains, I couldn’t say since likely buried in some fashion or destroyed.” Veresia had a lot more respect for Griz than before and it likely showed on her face as they continued to make their way back to the castle. Noticing that Griz was likely hungry Veresia pulled out a small pack and offered it to him “here, legion rations aren’t the greatest but they are filling” the pack she offered was mostly dried meat, and a few other things that war demons tend to consume on the side.  

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

Exit to the Courtyard

Griz considered the offer as they started towards the castle but had to give a heavy sigh, "Thanks for the offer, but that isn't enough for this... I really need a large meal this time. I'm either going to have to hunt for it or hope that they have something large enough for my bear in the cold cellar," he explained to her, knowing that he didn't have much choice on it.

Thankfully, the courtyard loomed up ahead, so he was saved from speaking much further.