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 Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:18 pm
"Oh! Mr. Leechy..." The silver female fretted a little, knowing well how hard the parasite could bite if it wanted. "Eh? Oh...I don't remember, actually." Ears tilted back a little as she hummed softly, thinking. A cave somewhere? "I can't remember." She finally admitted, shaking her head. "I know it was dark though." Not exactly helpful, but...Albel's soft sound of pain had her wincing before a soft sound of horror leapt into her throat, frosty eyes wide as those cruel talons pierced straight into its soft, squishy body. With a screech, the leech went limp and died, splatting wetly against the tree it was so carelessly thrown against.
Tsu-Kitsu had hunkered quite close to the ground at this point, a soft whimper making itself known in the back of her throat as ears pinned themselves flat against her skull. "Are...are you all right?" Came the faint question, though the female was very much distracted by the death of her long-time companion, threatening to give way to something along the lines of dispair. That was before the leech twitched.
Tails puffing out abruptly, Tsu lifted her head with hopeful disbelief, wings even going so far as to flare themselves out slightly. "Mr. Leechy...?" Indeed--with a disgruntled snarl, the leech promptly splatted on the ground, thrashing about in its own slime with rage, the holes in its body slowly sealing themselves with that thick, oozing slime. The silvery female skirted behind Albel with large eyes, having never before seen this little trick! "But I...I thought you squished him!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:00 pm
"Trust me, so did I." He growled softly, low in his throat, confusion moving through him. He had dealt with things much larger and stronger than a simple demonic leech in his life time, and it had been his experience that there were very few things that could survive his vicious talons. Apparently he would need to add leeches to that list. "What the hell is that thing?" With a snarl, he took a step forward, watching as the leech regenerated.
"Let's go," he said finally, turning around, gingerly placing weight upon his leg. Thankfully, the wound was shallow, and looked more violent than it was. He began to walk again, wanting to get away from the undead leech. He couldn't quite figure out what it was about the leech that bothered him... But he knew that it did. It brought back images and memories... Images and memories that he would rather not have brought to the forefront of his mind.
"Leave it behind, Tsu," he said after a few moments, saying her name for the first time since their meeting. "It's not something you should have with you," he added, looking back at the raggedly-clothed Kitsusagi, crimson eyes moving beyond her after a moment to see if the leech was following them or not.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:47 pm
Tsu-Kitsu only shook her head, her wings beginning to rustle flusteredly when Albel advanced on the quickly regenerating leech. The parasite gurgled a warning, its toothy mouth flexing like a wet, meaty fist. It wouldn't hesitate to bite the other's nose straight off--those jaws were surprisingly powerful, despite their appearance. The command had her skittering behind Albel without a word, making a concerned sound when she caught sight of the wound that had been gouged into his leg. "You're bleeding," Tsu began, ears twitching a little at the squelching hisses of Mr. Leechy.
She didn't seem to have noticed that he'd finally called her by name, tilting her helmed head for a moment when he glanced back. "...I guess not." Tsu's ears tipped back reluctantly some, temporarily forgetting the squirming horror behind her for a moment. "But it's going to be very lonely."
That was partially the reason she'd kept the little critter, so desperate for companionship of some sort that she'd been unable to help herself, even if it meant offering her own blood to the leech. But, Tsu reasoned, she was sure that Mr. Leechy had grown to like her too! Surely he did! "...Albel?" Tsu ventured, worriedly eyeing his leg now, "Shouldn't we, um...stop to fix that? You're still bleeding..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:25 pm
Was he still bleeding? He hadn't noticed. Looking down, a small rivulet of blood was slowly snaking it's way from his wound towards the ground. Still... He didn't know how far behind that damnable leech was, and wanted to keep going. "I've had worse," he said finally, continuing to move. He couldn't deny that the wound was still bothering him, but it really wasn't that bad... Was it?
Pausing, he looked down at it, and sighed. "Though I suppose I should take care of it now, rather than later. Moving isn't going to help it clot at all, either." He frowned, not liking to admit that he was hurt, and really not liking to admit he was hurt because of a damned leech. "I suppose you know how to get it to stop?" he asked, crimson eyes swinging to look over at Tsu, arching an eyebrow. "Since you let it feed off of you for so long."
Perhaps that statement hadn't been necessary. Especially given his tone of voice. But Albel was agitated easily, and watching something that should have been killed from the wound he had delivered come back to life was certainly more than enough to set the already socially withdrawn male into an even more angry and annoyed mindset.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:32 pm
"That doesn't make any difference." The female's voice was surprisingly firm, not wavering this time (though she did wilt a little in relief once he stopped). "Maaaaybe..." Her voice definitely held a sing-song sort of note as she padded closer, pointedly ignoring his biting comment with a twitch of her ears. "Don't be grumpy--I think I can fix it." Tsu-Kitsu poked her nose at the wound for a minute, rambling quietly as she did. "There's something about when he bites that makes the wound keep bleeding so he doesn't have to waste time trying to draw it out." See? She'd learned a few things.
"The best thing is to keep it bandaged for now so the blood has something to try and clot against!" She nodded finally, then, carefully stepping on her own dress, used her teeth to idly rip away one of those already-trailing strands. Not caring much for personal space at the moment, Tsu-Kitsu was careful not to poke him with her helm as she slipped the torn fabric around the wounded bit of his leg, doing her best to bind it tightly in order to act as a proper clot.
Pulling away, blue eyes blinked for a moment before she beamed. "There! That should do it. But don't tear it, okay?" Yes, that wouldn't do him any good at all! A faint squelching sound in the distance was enough to make her jump a little, eyes wide as she peered uncertainly. "...I think you were right, Albel." Tsu whispered unhappily, her tails tucked between her legs. "Maybe day-time is sorta scary like night-time is too..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:46 pm
Albel was simply too startled by the fact that anyone- let alone someone he had been overtly rude to, and barely knew him- would bother to rip their own clothing in order to create a bandage of sort for him to tell her to stop. Her command of not to be grumpy was received in a fashion that was a little more in character, for him. "I think I'm allowed to be grumpy, as you put it, if I have wound from a demonic leech that won't stop bleeding." He delivered the words in a dry voice, but for some reason, the utter ridiculousness of the situation- a demonic leech?- struck him as humorous.
A smile quirked on his lips, but he quickly covered it with his paw, acting as if he was brushing something from his cheek. Lifting his now bandaged arm, he tested the make-shift wrapping, and found that it stayed in place rather well. If she was looking for a thank you, she certainly wasn't going to get one, he reminded himself, glaring at nothing in particular as he set his wounded leg back down, gingerly, and was glad to see that he hadn't bled through the gray material yet.
Upon hearing Tsu's words, and catching the sound of a faint squelching sound, he growled. "Relentless little thing, isn't it?" he muttered, more to himself than to her. "Let's get going, then. We'll walk while I try to think of a way to get rid of that damn thing."
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:20 pm
The girl giggled a little at his response, apparently not put off by his reply. "Well yeeees," Tsu reasoned, her tails wagging some, "But you'll stop bleeding in a minute, so enjoy being grumpy while you can!" Not that she believed he would, mind, but it couldn't hurt to try! Ears pricked curiously when he lifted a paw to his face, but Tsu-Kitsu missed the smile, beaming a little when the wraps stayed in place. She'd done a good job! And he hadn't snapped at her for doing it, so the silvery female didn't think anything else about it. The material of her dress, though whispery as it seemed to glide after her paws, was surprisingly durable, and it should hold until Albel managed to find something better, at least.
"He is." Her tone was almost apologetic, ears tipping back a little as she anxiously glanced back again. No sign of the little guy for now--Tsu-Kitsu hurriedly bounded after Albel once he mentioned moving again. "Okie dokie! ...I'd never seen him do that before." She admited, but then again, it was unlikely that she'd ever tried anything of the sort. She'd been rather attached to the parasite, now hadn't she?
"Do you think...he'll try to follow us out of the forest?" Tsu-Kitsu questioned after a moment, her tails swishing a little uncertainly as she continued to peek around for the leech. Goodness, it wasn't like her to be so jittery, but then again, she didn't exactly like to make people bad, and she knew how hard Mr. Leechy could bite when he wanted too...
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:20 pm
Albel ignored her chatterings for a moment, testing out the bandage still as he moved, thinking of how she was so much like a child... More of a child than he had ever been. Had he missed out on something, he wondered, by giving himself over to power and swordplay so early. Certainly, he had played tag with the other children, but only to win, never to just socialize. Had he missed out on something but shutting his heart off so severely, so tightly? Looking at her, he wondered.
At her final question, he shook himself from his melancholy revere, and looked at her for a moment, crimson eyes showing a bit of confusion, as he didn't know the leech to be anything but a persistent, irritatingly intelligent zombie-like creature. "Probably. Unless he finds something else to attach to. Which, considering there are birds and the like around here, is a slight possibility." He frowned as he realized he didn't want the damn leech to follow. Once he was rid of this forrest, he would likely be rid of the girl, probably never see her again. What did he care, then? Or rather, Why did he care?
Looking up, he tried to catch a glimpse of the sun. It was nearing- or perhaps past- the noon hour. If he could find the sun, he could find a direction... The foliage offered little help. "Damn it," he cursed beneath his breath. He was tired, he was injured, and unnecessarily irritated by the leech. "I have no idea how to get out of here," he grumbled. It seemed he was enjoying his alloted time frame of grumpiness.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:12 am
She was rather childish, wasn't she? Bounding here and there, so eager to be distracted by the sight of birds swooping through the forest, chattering loudly...It almost let her forget that a certain leech was all too-determined to catch up with them. And when she thought of it, her ears tipped back slowly, and she began to wonder. Was this...how she was always going to be? She'd been so desperate for company, for Mr. Leechy...but she'd been afraid to lose Albel's friendship too, so she'd left one for the other. But Albel didn't plan to use her like Mr. Leechy had, and soon, he would go away. She'd be alone. Could she handle being alone?
Yes, she slowly decided, blue eyes downcast as she watched her feet, his words floating past her as she thought. She could handle it. Because Albel wouldn't go away forever--she'd find him again, just like she'd found Xaldin. Maybe being alone wouldn't be so bad, so long as she could entertain herself. Tsu-Kitsu let her tails wag a little, reassuring herself as she finally glanced up again--catchin sight of what Albel was doing and mimicking him. What were they looking at?
"That's a bad word." She chided, blinking at his next words. "You don't? Really? Well, that's okay! You told me that if I kept going in one direction, I had to get out eventually." An irritated screech rasped behind them, and Tsu-Kitsu winced, tutting under her breath. "Maybe...Maybe if I tried to see if I could push through all the branches and stuff, I could take a peek." The grey female said thoughtfully, craning her neck up to the thick foilage above them again. "But that would mean leaving you alone with Mr. Leechy..." A concerned glance was offered to his paw. "Will you be okay?" True, she'd said she couldn't fly out earlier...but what other choice did they have? If she could perch on the lower branches and try to climb up without falling or breaking a wing...It was that, or wander around until they got tired and Mr. Leechy caught up with them again.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:06 pm
Crimson eyes moved from the forest in front of him to glance at the young female Kitsu that had become his companion for this little trip of his. She was offering to help- at great risk of personal help. He wasn't so jaded, so out touch with the world, as to not know that there were being like this. Beings that could- and would- do something for another without expecting anything in return. And in his experience, those beings had all been children, who needed to be looked after and chided and taught the ways of the adult world. He had watched as cousins of his had grown, had lost that youthful innocence that had made them beautiful, even to one such as him. What sort of monster would he be if he took advantage of such beauty, of such innocence?
The unredeemable sort.
"I'd be fine, believe me," he said dryly, lifting his lightly injured paw to inspect the bandaging. It seemed he was still bleeding, a bit... Odd, considering that he had always healed with what some considered preternatural quickness and efficacy. He had never questioned it, just simply took it in stride, and was thankful for it, as he made his life on the battlefield. "But you needn't do that. You could, very easily, break a wing, or some other limb. And then what sort of state would we be in?" True, he didn't want to deal with the added burden of carrying her around, but it seemed he also had a truly genuine wish to see her through this unscathed.
Perhaps he was blowing this out of proportion... He'd been in situations that were many, many times more dangerous than this. He'd helped save an entire universe once, hadn't he? And even now, so long after, it seemed he was struggling with why, with his reasons. It had gone against all that he was- or had thought he was. And now, it seemed, his self was being challenged again, however softly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:48 pm
"I don't doubt it." She responded cheerfully, her tails twitching themselves from side to side. "But you'd have to promise anyway!" Just as she'd been getting ready to spring, his words confused her, muscles slowly relaxing as the female tilted her helmed head to the side, blinking. "Oh...Well, I'd be careful! Should I promise too?" Tsu-Kitsu inquired, her wings flared out slightly but otherwise unmoving. he didn't want her to hurt herself? That was nice! But honestly, the female was more than a little confused. If she didn't do this, wouldn't they be stuck still? And he was hurt, so they really shouldn't waste time with Mr. Leechy out and hungry for blood...
Those frosty eyes eyed him with concern for a minute while the girl fidgeted in place, finally seeming to gather the courage to pipe up. "You're hurt too, remember? And I don't think it's gonna get better if we just wait and Mr. Leechy finds us again..." Tsu-Kitsu was definitely mincing now, looking almost eager to see if she could claw her way up a tree. "And you already helped me! So, the least I can do would be to try and get us both out of here so we aren't stuck!"
Would he believe her? Maybe. Eventually, her ears tilted back. "I really will be careful. I promise. I won't be silly and I won't fall out. Oh, and I won't break anything! I'll just fly up there real slow and then climb up! Okay?" She was pleased with her plan, beaming at him a little.
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 2:52 pm
Albel eyed his injury with disgust, knowing that the wound he had received wasn't any sort of normal bite. It hurt far more than it should have, for how small the creature was that had done the biting, and damn it if it wasn't still bleeding! Sluggishly, and it did seem to be petering off, finally, but the fact was that it was, indeed, still bleeding. It would be best, he knew, if he could get to some sort of water source the flush the bite out. Fresh wrappings would help too, he was sure. With a sigh, crimson eyes moving from Tsu to the dense foliage of the upper area of the forest. "Alright," he said finally with a stiff nod.
In part, he was more than a little upset about having to rely on someone to help him. It wounded his warrior's pride, and it was made all the more insulting that it was more or less a small child he was relying on. But he was more than a little tired of being trapped in this damned forest with some sort of demonic leech following them. If he had ever been in a more ridiculous, ludicrous situation, he was hard pressed to think of one. What really bothered him, though, about relying on Tsu's help was something that was almost completely foreign to him. Concern. He was concerned for her.
"Alright," he repeated. "I believe you, I suppose. If possible, try and see if you can spot the river that runs through this general area. I need to clean this out, and rewrap it," he added dryly, lifting his wounded paw and giving it a bit of a shake.
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