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 Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 1:30 pm
"That's a very good attitude to have, Mr. Kazamaru. I am pleased to see that you're able to choose your battles after all."
Rising from the ground, the girl walked past behind Ryugi and headed away from the camp; into the woods. The amount of pain that he felt burning from his mark spiked as she passed near to him, but dropped off sharply as she walked slowly away from him towards the treeline.
"Come."
She did not look back, but walked slowly enough that he would have no trouble gathering his things quickly and keeping up with her.
There was no path ahead of them through the forest, but she lead him on a course that was unerring except briefly straying to the sides as she walked past the trunks of trees. In the deeper parts of the wood there was little snow on the ground and many dry patches full of dead leaves stretched across the forest floor. Though it was still snowing, the few flakes that made it through the branches above would not pile up in banks like they had at the edge of the windswept plains.
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:01 pm
Ryugi would wince at the pain caused by the girl in front of him. Though, with as much power as she'd shown not minutes before, he was sure she could pick any form she pleased. Hell, if Ryugi could change forms, he was sure someone like her could. He nodded at her words, and followed her into the forest. The air was chilly and crisp once more, strange as this was supposed to be a desert after all.
Ryugi continued to follow her past trees and through the snowy forest. There was still snow falling here, and some of it would make crunching noises as Ryugi's boots walked through it. It wasn't a heavy layer of snow, but it was enough to make it look and feel like winter in this place. Ryugi's breath would steam with each exhalation of air from his body. And as he watched the dissipating clouds he wondered exactly what all this was about, though he was sure he'd find out soon enough.
The girl hadn't given him any reason to mistrust her, and from what he'd seen, she was very strictly business and had no real emotions on matters at hand. Of course, if she was going to kill him, she could have easily done so by now with all her power. So, it was safe to say, at least for the time being, his life was not in immediate danger. And even if she'd wanted him dead, he was almost certain, if she could command Joshua in such a way, that she wouldn't have bothered to do it herself, and wouldn't have stopped him from injuring him. Of course, that might have simply been about punishing him for his actions, and not sparing his life intentionally. Either way, Ryugi knew that whatever was going on was going to be something he wouldn't soon forget.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 5:04 pm
"What reasons do you have to continue on this path, Mr. Kazamaru?"
The girl asked her question without a hint of curiosity in her voice. She did not slow her pace, as leisurely as it was with the small steps she took, but seemed entirely unconcerned with whether or not Ryugi was actually following behind her.
"You have suffered many injuries, you have lost companions, and on several occasions you have nearly died yourself. What reasons do you have to continue?"
The snow crunching under her feet was the only sound that came from the child as she hiked on unrelenting through the forest. Her dress was hiked up a few inches with her fingers intertwined in the lace to keep it from brushing the snow as they walked, but other than that she seemed entirely unconcerned. Despite the cold she did not wear a jacket, but did not seem the slightest bit bothered by it. The course she was leading Ryugi through was slowly becoming rockier and steeper; climbing uphill towards where the treeline was beginning to thin. But she did not tire from the laborious hike, and her breathing did not quicken because of it... in fact, she did not seem to breathe at all except when she spoke, and even then there was no sign of warm breath like the trails of smoke following in Ryugi's wake.
Ahead of them was the edge of the trees, and beyond it stood a tall mesa. A towering reminder that even through the snow and ice this was, still, a desert. Across the clearing there was an opening in the rocks at the base of the mesa that appeared to go in deeper. She lead him towards it. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr~Pacing out from the cave ahead of them came several wolves; their coats the color of the snow-covered rocks and their fur bristled in agitation. Several growls joined after the first as one after another the wolves slunk out from behind rocks on the mountainside, stood up from beds of snow in the open clearing, and paced in slow circles around the travelers through the woods beside them. Teeth bared, the closest among them lowered on their front legs and raised their tails; leering territorially at the intruders that were headed towards the den. 
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 5:23 pm
I have one reason to continue down this path. To protect. Whether it be myself, or others from harm, I'll fight to protect those that need protection, and to protect that which I hold dear.
Ryugi continued to walk along behind the girl as he followed her up, higher and higher across the rocky, snowy ground. It was a simple answer to a relatively simple question. Something told him the girl wouldn't be interested in long winded speeches. As they came to the clearing, Ryugi spied the cave, and the wolves that made their way out of the forest to watch them heading for it, barring their teeth in a protective manner.
Much like those wolves who are trying to protect what they hold dear. Their home, or their family, either way, they appear to be willing to fight for it, and to die if necessary.
Ryugi kept an eye on the wolves, watching their movement. He meant them no harm, but he was sure they didn't exactly know that. It was odd, though, to see snow-white wolves in a desert, and it made him wonder how they'd arrived here so far away from their natural habitat.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:00 pm
The wolves, which were originally grey and white, brown and earthy red, sought to protect their home from what didn't belong there. This cave had been their den for generations, but when the ice age came to Barthavos it had been hard on them. Those with the reddish coat patterns died out more frequently, standing out more against the ice and snow than their brethren. Hunted or starved, it was simply survival of the fittest that had turned the pack of desert wolves into gray forest wolves that were quite suited to this new habitat as their dark and light patterned coats blended in with the sparse snowfall covering the rocks and beneath the trees. It was also this harsh climate change that had caused them to cluster like they did around Ryugi; encircling him at a distance with fangs bared and fur standing on end. What was not prey was often predator, and the Angaran swordsman did not resemble any rabbit or lizard that was native to this forest. "And who needs protection, Mr. Kazamaru?"
The girl continued on towards the cave without the slightest hint of hesitation. Though the wolves snarled and snapped their teeth, she strode straight past them and into the mouth of the cave; even going so far as to brush a hand across the coat of the alpha and receiving no response.
After all... she did not even exist as a threat to these animals. They would not turn their teeth on a rock that rolled down the mountain and into their territory, nor would they snarl at a sparrow that perched above the cave. They ignored her as if she were no different than a pebble rolling through the mouth of the cave.
"Why are others more important to you than yourself?"
She called back to him before disappearing into the darkness ahead.
"Try to keep up, boy."
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:19 pm
themightyjello "And who needs protection, Mr. Kazamaru?"
"Why are others more important to you than yourself?"
She called back to him before disappearing into the darkness ahead.
"Try to keep up, boy." Ryugi continued onwards, doing his best to look non-threatening to the wolves, though, if they decided to attack him, he'd deal with them by nonlethal means. Afterall, HE was the intruder here, not them. And he understood that. For the most part, his face, thighs, and bicep areas would be effected by whatever the wolves decided to throw at him. He wasn't going to injure them if he could avoid it. If they attacked, they'd hit walls of light energy, created by Ryugi as a solid barrier to their attacks. He'd only use this if attacked, however, and would make no threatening or aggressive movements of his own. People who cannot protect themselves, the weaker or innocent, those that are in need, those are people that need protection. I hate to see the suffering of others, and rather than them suffer, I would rather me suffer the pain than them, if only to save them from said pain. My body is of no consequence if they can continue to live their lives. Wounds can heal, a life saved can continue to go on, but a life wasted or thrown away by senseless violence or anger is lost or gone forever. Death is seldom not eternal.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:53 pm
"Death can be fickle, Mr. Kazamaru. There are no promises except that everyone must eventually come to terms."
Because of the delay caused by the wolves outside she was a distance ahead of him in the cave already, walking at the edge of the light that came through the mouth of the cave, and soon enough completely absent in the darkness ahead. Though her voice carried through the cave, echoing down the length of it even though light failed the Angaran's eyes.
"You speak many pretty words, boy, but can you keep the promises that your mouth makes? What will become of you when the people you save hurt others?" The inside of the cave was very dark, obviously. It was still night outside, and the moonlight through the snow and clouds was not bright enough to light the interior of the mountainside beyond the entrance. Even in the day, though, there would have been little enough light through the length of the tunnel-like cave that wound its way into the mountain. For the wolves, this would not be a problem because they could simply follow the scent trails that lead deeper inside, but for those that relied upon sight it could be quite an obstacle. As Ryugi walked he would find that there was a central path that seemed clear of debris and large rocks; though straying to the sides from this would cause him to step on uneven terrain, striking his toes against rocks jutting out from the ground or stepping on piles of refuse that had accumulated in low spots. Walking straight down the clear path would be impossible, as the cave had many twists as it wound deeper into the mesa, but at least he had the good fortune that animals are not prone to defecate in their own den.
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:10 pm
Ryugi's eyes could handle near-darkness, but they still required light to see, as did most animals. He created a small ball of light, barely smaller than a marble that would illuminate the path to his eyes, but not so brightly that it would blind him or make his vision suffer. He'd then quickly hurry ahead to catch up to the girl ahead of him father down the cave.
Some that are kind and innocent are not always so, but if those that I save turn to hurt others, I'll do my best to fight and save those that are being hurt. What they do with their gift of life is of their own choosing. I can't control that, but I can try to control the effect their lifestyle has on those around them. Its all I can do. One man can't change another, the other must choose to change for themselves.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:25 pm
The light that Ryugi created was enough to illuminate the cave, though shadows still danced and played around every rock and corner. It illuminated the wolves that clustered around large rocks protruding from the walls, as well as those that formed circles around the pups curled up in hollows. The light cast shadows on these animals and, in contrast to the alpha and the other hunters outside the cave, many of the wolves deeper inside were mangy, limping, their ribs could be seen through their coats. It also illuminated the floor, and the gnawed-through bones littered around it in piles. Some belonging to smaller animals such as rabbits and deer that the wolves had carried back with them, others belonging to larger animals such as the domesticated riding lizards that travelers used on long journeys through the desert; larger than a horse and heavy enough that it must have taken the whole pack to dismember it and drag the carcass back with them. Of course, mixed in with all of these were bones of the wolves that had died here from age, starvation, and injury. "So you have no loyalties?"
The child bent down and picked up something from the ground; turning and tossing it casually to the swordsman.
"The pack here are victims of circumstance. If this unnatural winter had never come they would never have stooped to stealing livestock from farms. The cold is killing many of the animals that live in this desert, and because of that these wolves are slowly starving to death." As for what Ryugi would catch in his hands, it was representative of the bones the child now stood over. A human scull, though small, likely that of a child. There were many more further in, a large pile of five or six nearly complete skeletons that had been scattered over the floor at a turn in the cave tunnel. Scraps of shredded clothing still clung to some of the bones, and behind a snarling female a small pup was picking the scraps from one that was still juicy.  " What will you do, Mr. Kazamaru?" The girl placed her hands on a flat stone that crossed halfway into the cave. " If the wolves have no food here in the mountains they will move towards the farms and settlements in order to survive. You could save many innocent lives if you put an end to it all right now. The situation will only get worse from here if left unattended." She stood placidly amidst the bones of farmhands and their families. The livestock and the wild animals mixed in indiscriminately with everything else that these wolves could call food, and this included Ryugi as well. Bending at the knees she lowered herself down and scooped a woman's scull up from the floor... at this point only she would have been able to tell that it was truly a woman's from merely a glance. Her thumb rubbed out the filth that had accumulated in a fang gash across the cranium, and once the bone had been polished up a little she raised it up in her hands and gave it a little kiss. " Who is evil here, Mr. Kazamaru? Who shall your justice condemn for 'goodness'? The men, the women, the children will all be plagued by these scavengers with their natural food sources gone. Many will be taken by them in the months to come. Will you kill these starving animals in order to save the little people?" She stroked the scull softly as if it were a doll in her hands, brushing her hand over the back of it like she were coming its hair, all with the faintest hint of a smile upon her face as she did so. " Or perhaps you will slay the weather? After all, aren't we all just victims of circumstance in the end? Will you do that, boy? Will you save everyone by killing winter?" Her wrist went limp, and with a noisy clatter the woman's head fell to the stones below and rolled down into a pile of her husband.  " What will you do now, boy?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:41 pm
Ryugi looked around the cave as he listened to the girl speak. He knew she was testing him. Testing his beliefs to the breaking point. Trying to see how much pressure his thoughts and feelings could take before they crumbled like the small fragments of bone that lay across the ground inside the cave. These wolves are not so dissimilar from my kind several thousand years back. They had to hunt animals to stay alive, and were branded as evil and demonic creatures by humankind. If you're trying to show me that my path through life isn't as clear cut as I seem to believe it is, I'm well aware of that. Nothing in life is without its general inconsistencies. Afterall, even death is not eternal for some...Ryugi looked around and took in the sights around him. The hungry wolves and their pups, the weakened and injured animals all around the place, the skulls and bones of animals and being stripped of every digestible piece of flesh in order to try and survive. As he looked around, one thing came to his mind.  I will do nothing.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:06 pm
"And if these people were still alive?"
The girl looked for a moment at the bones strewn about in front of her... then raised her hand over them with a simple gesture. Bones from all over the cave skittered across the stones and flew towards her hand, where they arranged themselves properly into every joint and crevice.
If he blinked he might miss it. Almost in an instant the bones sprung flesh to them once again and instead of the remains of a dead woman there was a farmer's wife that lay before them on the cave floor.
The child glanced towards him with that same placid look upon her face, although this look was tainted slightly by the curled lip of a faint smile.
Bringing two fingers to her lips, she inhaled once, and then blew out between them. The woman on the cave floor gasped suddenly for breath, and then began breathing normally as if she were asleep. Three wolves crept out from the shadows beyond the turn in the cave, hungrily eying the meal in front of them. They paced it in a circle for a moment, licking their chops and seeming to forget all about the snarls and borne teeth that they had sent in the swordsman's direction. Instead the hungry scavengers decided to close in on the easy meat. Even those in the cave behind Ryugi pushed forwards more than they had before; their eyes locked upon what lay in front of them.
From the corner one rushed forwards to snap at the woman's arm.
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:24 pm
In a second, Ryugi had darted past the girl and stood between the woman and the wolves, forming a barrier between them and the "free meal". He didn't have the right to say that wolf or man deserved to survive over the other, but both deserved a chance at life. And as she was called back to life by this girl, this woman, as she was, HAD no chance at life, unless Ryugi were to give it to her. Thus, he would try to do so, protecting her from the onslaught with the non-fatal barrier of light.
Every living creature deserves a chance at life. This woman HAS no chance at life if left unprotected! Evil beings that threaten to kill for their own selfish gains are stealing that chance of life away from those who do not do evil! You've seen my resolve, tested my actions against my words, now PLEASE, stop this!
Ryugi knew not what would happen after his call to stop this situation, but if the girl did not call it all to halt, Ryugi would continue to protect the woman, and even try to remove her from the cave, all without killing the wolves.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:43 pm
"Childish."
She said the word dismissively. Seeing Ryugi involve himself when he had just said that he wouldn't caused her to turn her back on the both of them and fold her arms disapprovingly over her chest.
"Is this your answer? Your heart is so easily swayed by a piece of meat?"
The girl cast a cold glance back at Ryugi, and the woman he stood over stopped breathing entirely. Her heart stopped. Her body would soon grow cold. She was nothing but a piece of meat now, would he still protect her?
"Know that you refused to lift a finger to save either of them before this. Now that you see it right in front of your eyes will nothing stop you from robbing these creatures of what they need in order to continue living?"
Her hands dropped to her sides, the girl forming tiny fists with her clenched fingers and stalking forwards through Ryugi's little walls. She was displeased, but no more than disappointment would sway her.
"At your request, Mr. Kazamaru, it is stopped. There is no more cause for heroism here, let these animals have their meal or kill them to prevent such a thing from happening to other women in the future. But know that what is fair and what is necessary are seldom the same course."
She turned her back upon him and proceeded deeper into the cave.
"I will be waiting ahead when you are done here. Do not delay long."
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:19 pm
Ryugi would stand there for a few more minutes, wrestling with the concepts at hand. Inside, he was angry that the situation had been changed. He knew he had emotions, feelings, impulses that would cause him to try and protect this woman. He wouldn't have stepped in if the situation hadn't changed, but once he was forcibly involved, it became his choice to act, or not to act. Acting gave the woman a chance to live, not acting was giving her up to die. All life deserved a chance to live in Ryugi's mind, and he couldn't choose man or wolf to live over the other, but each deserved a chance to live. If the situation had been reversed, a wolf without a chance to live being attacked by humans, Ryugi would have stepped in as well. But everything was ruled by one's emotions as well. Logic was sometimes overrun by emotions. Nothing was perfect, not even logic. All things had flaws within them, and Ryugi's resolve was one of them. It wasn't perfect, but then, neither was life. Life was not fair. Life was hard and cruel, and Ryugi knew that as well.
It was then that Ryugi would feel the void from the woman behind him. She breathed, she felt warm, for all intents and purposes she was indeed "alive", but there was a void within her, a strange cold inside her being. This woman was alive, yes, but she had no soul. She was a construct, a meat puppet designed to test him and flush his inconsistencies and flaws into the open where he would be forced to see them for what they were, and be aware of them. D had played him for a fool, and showed him how foolish he could be at times. It angered him slightly to be put in that kind of situation, but he could not be mad at the girl, nor could he be mad at the wolves of the puppet behind him. His inconsistencies and flaws were his own, however second guessing one's thoughts was what made him stronger in some areas. These flaws were the cost of that advantage. Despite Ryugi's inconsistencies, he was balanced in one way or another. Perhaps it was "childish" to a being of immeasurable power such as D, who as far as Ryugi could tell had no emotion whatsoever, but she was entitled to her opinions and beliefs, as was Ryugi.
After the hoax of the puppet was found out, Ryugi sighed and pulled down his barrier, and allowed the wolves to have their meal. The soulless puppet might scream, but thats all it was. And in the end if Ryugi had done nothing, the same would have happened. Perhaps it was D who had helped the wolves by giving them the meal, knowing that Ryugi would act as he did, and still knowing his eventual decision to continue onwards. That tiny act might have spoken volumes about the girl's real emotional haves or have-nots. Or, perhaps the helping of a wolves was merely a byproduct of business, and completely unintended. Either way, Ryugi was left pondering these and many other thoughts as he strode deeper into the cave, walking after the girl and meeting up with her a short time afterwards.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 11:05 pm
Ahead of Ryugi the cave grew brighter. A turn a short distance away was making the source of the light but it still shone through to dimly illuminate the tunnel around the corner. There were no more wolves to growl at Ryugi as he passed; they had all flooded towards the banquet behind him, and the snapping of their jaws, the snarls of warning, and the yips of the weaker that were pushed aside so that the stronger members could eat first filled the cave with reverberating echoes. The cave opened up just ahead into a complete cavern, so expansive that the light from the small campfire built inside was barely able to reach the far walls. It seemed as if the entire mesa must have been hollow to hold a room like this, but in reality it was only a small portion of the mountain. The roof of the cavern had a great hole in it, allowing the moonlight and snow from outside to shine down upon a small lake that had formed from rainwater in the center of the cavern. Drifts of wet snow floated across the surface of the pond like little boats, glinting in the firelight with every twist and surge of the flame. It was amidst several large rocks by the edge of this lake that the camp was built; a fire, a small metal rack beside it serving as a cooking stove, and a small girl dressed in black sitting upon a rock beside the fire with her legs drawn up beside her. " Have you indulged yourself enough?" The girl spoke sternly, and closed her eyes for a moment afterwards as if relieving herself of undue frustration. " You have a strong sense of justice, Mr. Kazamaru. But justice is make-believe. Nothing is ever fair to everyone."  " Now come. We have much to discuss and my time is precious." Arms folded across her lap, she turned her attention back to the fire, watching a pot that sat upon the stove. Ryugi felt something touch his shoulder, and his neck began to burn once again. "Ignore her. She doesn't know a thing about what's fun." Walking past his left, Joshua proceeded into the cave past Ryugi with two wolves trailing behind him. They didn't growl or bite at him, though one followed closely by each hand licking the woman's blood from his fingers and wagging their tails as if they were pets. "All business. All method." "You're late!"
She spoke sternly, seemingly appalled by the idea that he had taken so long to reach this cave. With a gesture of her hand towards the packs laying near the fireside, her tone turned absolute.
"Make my tea." "Manifest something," was the exacerbated reply she received, even as Joshua pulled open the straps on the pack and pulled out a tin of tea leaves. "What a worthless servant you are." "Yes.. of course... shut up..."
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