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 Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 10:50 pm
  This is a private roleplay between Jianyu [Kuro-Mizuki] and Xiu [Honeybii].
Setting:
The forest
Xiu happens upon the aftermath of a sneak attack on the Legion faction. Jianyu finds him in their compromising situation and a fight breaks out.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 10:51 pm
Spirits had started to gather on the far north side of the town. Somewhere in the forests, Xiu was almost positive. The prickling feeling at the back of his neck had started at sunrise, the sensation waking him from a near dead sleep. As the day went on, it only grew strong, indicating a massive amounts of spirits congregating in one place. The worst part of it was that Xiu didn’t know WHY. There were no temples or houses in that area. Only blank space. And yet…there were spirits. They felt lost too.
Unable to take the not knowing much longer, Xiu packed a light lunch and set out for the offending area. Had others sensed it too? Had some gate to the underworld been opened? He wasn’t sure, never having sensed such a thing before. It was odd and a strange sort of foreboding gripping his stomach.
Thankfully though, the day was relatively clear, serving to wash some of Xiu dark feeling away. With the roads hard and clear of mud, Xiu quickly made his way to the outer edges of the city and ultimately to the woods beyond. Normally he didn’t venture into the Legion’s side of the city, but he’d make a special expectation for this.
Pushing through dense undergrowth now, Xiu’s anticipation grew as his ear fins wiggled to try and pick up the tiniest of sounds. There were none. Which was odd. Only moments ago birds and other manner of creatures were going about their lives. The closer he got to the place where the spirits were, the quieter they got until they’d petered off into nothing.
He was close.
Heart in his throat, Xiu finally burst into a small clearing the sight before him making him pause. Bodies. Dead ones. Fresh too. Their blood was still bright against the green grass, their spirits still connected to the corpses. Then the smell hit Xiu and he retched, hunching over and emptying his stomach into the bushes. Who had done this?
Gathering his courage, he advanced into the clearing. There were five dead. None had survived. He’d even double checked, not carrying that blood stained his clothes and hands when he’d kneeled down. Master would have to hear about this. The city was neutral territory for the most part, fighting only posturing.
Why had this happened?
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:39 pm
The mission had been long, hard, and excruciating.
It had also been a failure.
"Regroup!" shouted a voice as Jianyu stumbled out of his hiding place, wiping a smear of blood from his lower lip. He'd managed to kill off about three or four Nobles before his company had been attacked by a second group, this one unexpectedly from the North. They had been instructed to find out some secret information concerning the war from a Legion family said to be hiding in the north. But they had not gotten close enough to gain the information, and instead had discovered an entire Noble company lying in wait, intent on wiping them completely out. Though the odds had been slim, Jianyu and his men, as well as his superiors, had managed to fight them off - but not at what had been a great cost.
"What now?" asked the man to Jianyu's left, cradling his arm, which was bleeding profusely from an arrow wound to the shoulder. "Back to our base camp, I suppose."
Jianyu nodded and stepped forward, wincing slightly; his leg had a sharp gash down his left calf, which was more than a little painful to walk on. However, he gritted his teeth and kept moving, intent on getting back with his men.
"Jianyu," said a voice, and he turned, seeing the aged Captain Ginduras motioning towards him. "Jianyu, I need you to head towards the west branch of the forest. See if you can find that family; the woods should be empty of most Nobles now, but if you come across one, don't hesitate."
Jianyu gave a short, brief bow to his superior and turned quickly, heading back the way he had come from. Though he had no desire to do so, and barely any strength left in him, he would follow his commander's orders absolutely. To disobey would mean treason, not to mention betrayal and insubordination - things that Jianyu would never tolerate.
He was alone now, the voices of his commander and fellow Legionnaires fading into nothingness. Only the quiet hum of the crickets, the soft fluttering of birds' wings could be heard above his nearly silent footsteps. After walking for about twenty minutes, Jianyu could see a clearing just a bit further ahead.
That must be where the family is, he thought to himself, but something felt - off. Wrong. His feet began to move faster, his heart starting to beat louder and he broke through the clearing within seconds, breathing heavily.
No.
They were dead. All of them. Blood was splashed across the dirt and grass like a horrific painting, coating the bark of the trees and the stems of the flowers. Five bodies of the family, splayed across the forest floor like grotesque puppets, their throats slashed, stabbed through their stomachs. Jianyu's eyes moved across the clearing, nausea twisting his insides, threatening to make the bile in his throat rise even further.
...what?
Without realizing exactly what he was doing, Jianyu strode into the clearing, the pain in his leg completely forgotten. He didn't stop moving until he reached the small figure bent over one of the bodies, hands and face smeared with blood. Reaching out, Jianyu seized ahold of Xiu's collar, raising him off of the ground and dragging him across the floor, slamming him up against the nearest tree.
"What the hell have you done?!" he screamed. "What have you done?!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:35 pm
The least he could do was send the spirits of these people safely to the arms of the Jade Emperor. As sick as he felt, Xiu made himself reach out and touch the first dead body, shutting the eyelids over the stark expression of those sightless eyes. He was trying not to cry as he whispered the first round of burial rights. He may not be a full fledged monk, but he could at least do this.
Xiu tried not to think about the other four bodies around him or that two of them were on the young side. He just had to go one at a time and not focus on anything else but the task as hand. He knew these corpses were Legion, as was clearly by their looks and dress. He also made the deduction that only Nobles could have killed these people. It was the only thing that made sense. They were in the middle of a war after all. Still…the entire scenario seemed dishonorable. These Legionnaires had no weapons.
For the first time in his life, he was disgusted with his own faction, silently vowing to make things right once he left Academy.
With a deep breath he continued with his barely a whisper chatting before his voice was cut off by the collar of his shirt. Xiu shrieked, failing as his feet kicked uselessly in the air. The feeling of harsh bark scraped mercilessly against his back. Was it one of the corpse back from the dead? An evil spirit?
Someone was yelling.
“W-what?” Xiu asked, still relieved that it was a flesh and blood person before him and not some reanimated corpse. “Jianyu? What’re you talking about? I didn’t do anything! What happened? Are you okay?” Jianyu was Legion after all. And it had never been a problem before. However, now his heart was hammering in his chest. Jianyu’s face was downright murderous and Xiu was afraid.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:46 pm
He had recognized him, of course. There was no denying that soft golden hair, that slender face with large, luminous green eyes so full of feeling and emotions. But Jianyu could not see past the blood smeared across Xiu's face, his hands, sunken into the fabric of his clothing. It taunted him, provoked him, stabbed him in the stomach almost as a tangible as a real blade.
"You little s**t," Jianyu snarled, his fingers tightening around Xiu's collar. "How dare you stand in front of me and pretend like you don't know what you just did. How dare you?"
Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Jianyu knew that something was not quite right, that something was wrong with Xiu and with the dead family and with himself, but he could not stop his emotions from churning inside of him. A hatred like he hadn't felt in a long while seized his heart, cold ice inside his chest. All he could see was the blood, so much blood, everywhere, all across the clearing.
"You know, Xiu, you put off the front of being this little saint," Jianyu said, his voice laced with bitterness. "You give this show of being the 'poor little monk' with the good heart, who would never hurt a fly. You gave me the impression that maybe not all Nobles were as bad as they seemed to be."
His chest was tight. It was difficult to breathe.
"But you know what?" Jianyu said, his voice dropping lower, barely above a whisper now. "You're just a Noble b*****d, just like the rest of them."
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 6:08 pm
Jianyu was crazy. His eyes were almost as wide as those of the dead and Xiu stomach feel into his throat. He wiggled half heartedly when Jianyu’s grip was tightened, but he wanted to know what had happened. Why was Jianyu so upset? What in the hell was going on?
Those first few words stabbed into his chest and Xiu initial reaction was to cry. Tears were already brimming in his eyes, making his vision swim. Then he remembered Sakn. Even after the rejection, Xiu still thought about his friend. Sakn wouldn’t put up with this. Sakn was a man, he’d be strong and not let Jianyu talk to him so nastily.
Xiu sniffled, yelling at his trembling lip to cease. “Y-you c-can’t talk to me that way!” He tried saying, staring at Jianyu’s face. “I-it’s wrong of you to think that!
Then Jianyu was whispering that last hateful thing and Xiu got angry enough to try and break free. “I didn’t do anything!” He yelled, kicking out, his foot connecting with Jianyu’s side. Somehow, he managed to wiggled away from those grasping fingers and he pushed from Jianyu, staggering out of arms reach.
“Where do you get off accusing me of anything, huh? I didn’t DO anything,” he said again, “how do I know it wasn’t you? How should I know if the Legion doesn’t kill off their own allies because they grew useless?” It was a baseless accusation, but Xiu was too angry to care/ What had happened to the caring Jianyu that he knew from their time in the temple?
Xiu tensed, arms raised slightly, not knowing what Jianyu was going to do as he stood his ground.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:51 pm
He knew something was wrong with him, knew somewhere in the back of his mind that what he was saying had no basis, no real evidence behind it except for the fact that Xiu was here, in the clearing with the dead family - a Noble standing over a dead Legion family. Not only that, but a Noble that Jianyu had actually thought to be halfway decent, that he had believed to be at least somewhat kindhearted. After all, Xiu had taken care of him in his time of need, after one of his ambushes, and had not judged him for his alliance. But now...
Now it was different. Jianyu felt a burning hatred coursing through his veins, making his face hot, his body tensing automatically as Xiu ripped free, staggering away. His foot had managed to catch Jianyu in his side, and he winced, letting out an irritated growl. The young Noble was looking at him with an angry expression, his eyebrows drawn together.
"Look at where you are," Jianyu said, waving his arm around, his tone slightly mocking, turning more angry with every second. "You're a Noble. Covered in blood. Standing in the midst of a dead...Legion...family."
The words hurt to get out, were painful to even speak, and for a moment Jianyu lost what he was saying, his throat closing up, a warm liquid burning his eye. He angrily swiped at it, pushing down the emotions. Useless. They're useless. I don't need those kinds of feelings.
I don't need anything at all.
"The Legion," he said, each word dripping with anger, with a desire to let the hatred overtake him. " - do not practice what the Nobles do. We do not murder our own kind in order to appease our own desires. Do not put is in the same category as your filth."
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:00 pm
He needed to run. To go. Jianyu was hurting and Xiu didn’t know how to help. He didn’t think he could help. He wasn’t about to let the male speak horrible things to him. Just because he was a Noble, did not mean he went about killing others. He’d never even killed anyone in his life.
Reeling from Jianyu and the bodies around him, Xiu moved further backwards, nearly falling as he refused to look away from the Legionnaire’s eyes. “I’ll tell you what I’m doing here Jianyu.” He spat tersely, the color rising in his cheeks. “I sensed a large number of restless dead and came to investigate. If Bai Hu was here, you wouldn’t be saying such things to me.” The tiger after all, had grown bigger, and protected his master in ways Xiu couldn’t protect himself. Xiu wished he had thought to bring his familiar along instead of letting him sleep in.
“I won’t pretend I know what the Legion does and does not do. You shouldn’t believe everything they tell you about the Nobles either. I’m leaving Jianyu and you best do the same.” He couldn’t stay here any longer. The stench of the dead of starting to get to him, as were the four spirits still clinging to life. Didn’t Jianyu know he’d just interrupted a burial process. It was ironic. The male was so intent on finding the killer that he had no thoughts for the peace of the dead.
Disgusted, Xiu nearly spat at Jianyu’s feet before he finally yanked his gaze away, intent on leaving.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:10 pm
The stench of blood was heavy in the air; too heavy, a metallic, coppery taste on his tongue. The cut on Jianyu's leg had also opened up further, staining the cloth around it a bright, scarlet red that stood out horrifically against the pale fabric. He ignored it, however, and began to walk around Xiu in slow, mocking movements, raising his eyebrows.
"You sensed them, did you?" he said, his tone light, joking. Playfully taunting. "Well, seems like an awfully big coincidence, if you ask me."
He was tormenting Xiu; even he knew that, knew that it was wrong, that he was hurting the younger male with these biting remarks; something that Jianyu had never done before, not even to Bataar at his worst. But something inside of him had snapped, had broken, and he couldn't seem to stop the words from slipping out of his mouth.
"I don't believe everything 'they' tell me, whoever 'they' are." Jianyu said, folding his arms across his chest. "I believe only what I can see with my own eyes. And what I see is a Noble brat thinking he's above the rest of us."
Xiu had turned to leave now, his face a mask of anger mixed with both confusion and frustration, but Jianyu's hand shot out involuntarily, yanking him back.
"If you think I am simply going to let you walk away, you are very much mistaken."
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:20 pm
Fear tore at him. “You’re insane.” Xiu whispered, near hysterical as Jianyu circled him. He shied away from the male, reusing to let him get any closer than he was forced to endure. Xiu wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but he had a horrible feeling deep in his stomach that made him want to run away. And fast.
For a brief moment, he had a hope that Jianyu would just let him walk, but he was wrong. Screaming again, thinking he was about to have his throat slit, he stumbled backwards. He bumped into Jianyu’s armor, wincing as the metal bit into him. He couldn’t let Jianyu’s words hurt him. The male was crazy. There was something wrong with him. Still, the words hurt and Xiu could feel the beginnings of tears again.
“You’re blind then!” He shouted. “Look around Jianyu. I have no weapons, no companions. It would have been four against one. Tell me how a person like me could do something like this? Now let me go.” He tried to jerk away, footing kicking out into Jianyu’s leg this time. Xiu didn’t care if he’d hit the male’s injury. It didn’t matter at this point. He just needed to get somewhere safe!
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:29 pm
He wasn't insane, no. He couldn't be.
But maybe he was.
Jianyu let out a screech of pain as Xiu's foot connected with the cut on his leg, and he let go instantly, his vision wavering into black. For a few seconds he felt as if he were going to pass out, the combination of his injury and the blood around him making him sway unsteadily on his feet, and he knelt, the blackness suffocating. He felt nauseated, the bile rising in his throat again, but he forced it down, along with the part of him that was growing steadily more horrified by his own actions, his own words.
What am I doing? I should walk away. Just walk away. Let it go.
"You're blind, then!"
It hit him too hard. The smell of the blood was too much, just too much, along with the remembrance of that bloody, horrific day that Jianyu relived every second. He spun around, seizing ahold of Xiu's leg and yanking him to the ground.
"You're right," he snarled, anger pulsing through him. "I am blind! And whose fault do you think that is?!"
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