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 Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:17 am
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Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:53 am
A white stallion stood anxiously over a small pink scaled mare lying in the thin dusting of snow that clung to the ground. He didn't know what was happening and it worried him. For several months he had been living with the mare. She was a kirin that made him special in his eyes from the start but she had been nice to him. She was always around when he needed help or just some company. She'd always seemed strong in her own quiet and refined way but now...
"Sacchan..." He muttered leaning down to nudge her. She hadn't been up for two days now no matter what he did. He hadn't noticed that she had been weakening from the beginning. Unlike the stallion that had left her with him Hisoka did not know the lore surrounding the kirin. He only knew that they were sacred beasts of the Eastern world. "Sacchan...please get up..." It didn't seem to matter if what he said was in Kawani words or not. They all got the same reaction. Nothing.
Growing frustrated he circled the mare once, then twice, then thrice until he found it wasn't helping anything. "TORAO!" He bellowed stamping his hoof into the ground. "Dammit where are you?!" His golden eyes traveled to look at the feverish mare that still hadn't moved. "What did you do...Torao?"
The tiger pelted stallion blinked as he heard his name echoing over the fields. Sound had always traveled furthest in winter but that was not what had left him confused. What had stopped his brain function was, in fact, the fact that it had been his name that had been called. There weren't many people that knew him in these parts and even fewer that would ever call for him. Actually there was only one person it could have been which was why he was in a state of confusion.
"Hisoka?" The younger stallion hadn't called for Torao since before he had left their home. He didn't care that the Fox sounded angry. To Torao this was an improvement and without another moments delay he galloped off to the hill that marked Hisoka's small home base. When he ran over it he came to a sudden stop. In the shallow valley he saw two familiar faces but neither of them looked quite like they normally did. There was fear in Hisoka's and pain in Sabella's.
"You didn't stop did you...?" He asked in a bit of a low growl. He knew exactly what was going on. It was the blood fever. He had known that the mare was sensitive but he would have assumed that Hisoka would have listened to him for once because of her. "I told you to stop and you didn't listen... Why didn't you listen?" He looked over at the limp form and frowned. She needed to be removed before she got any worse and Hisoka blamed him for everything.
"Akiyo!" He called assuming their friend of sorts would be somewhere nearby. "Get out here. Need you to do something."
Sabella could hear voices somewhere beyond the black haze of her mind. She didn't know what they were saying or who they belonged to but she could hear them all the same. She wanted to call to them for help but she couldn't find the will to make a sound.
Her entire body hurt and burned like she had been lit on fire. She should have anticipated this from the very beginning when she had smelt blood on Hisoka's pristine coat. She loved the boy like a sister loves a younger brother so she had stayed close to him. Even when she felt her body growing weaker from the scent, and occasional sight, of blood on him. It made her ill to think of where all that blood had come from and a few days ago she had given in to the weakness of body and mind that had been threatening her.
She desperately wished she hadn't given in. She had a duty to take care of Hisoka. She couldn't fulfill that duty lying in the dirt but she couldn't find the strength to move.
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Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:03 pm
Lovely winter day for napping, it was... His eyes half-closed, the dark-pelted stallion was parked under a tree, legs folded neatly under his body and his muscles relaxed; while this land was certainly different from his homeland, it wasn't half bad. To top it off, a certain female was not around to order him about or disturb his naps... Yes, he was certainly thankful for the peace and quiet.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep, however, he was jotted awake by an all too familiar voice calling for him. While it was faint, he had clearly heard the stallion's request... Heaving a sigh, Akiyo stood up and trotted towards the direction the voice had came from. While he didn't exactly get along with Torao half the time, a familiar face in a foreign land is better than none; besides, he had already followed him this far... He thought that it might be for the best that he hung around.
"Seems like you still had not learned to say please," He raised an eyebrow as he emerged from the foliage into the clearing, resisting the urge to yawn. He quickly paused, however, when the atmosphere told him that something was wrong. He glanced briefly at the Kirin that had passed out in front of the pair before frowning slightly, turning his attention to Torao instead of Hisoka for once, "She needs to be moved? How long had she been out?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 8:14 am
Hisoka stopped panicking for a moment, long enough to turn and look daggers at his approaching friend. Based on what the Tiger said he knew his assumption had been right; Torao had known something like this might happen from the very beginning. "Just because you're willing to neglect your duties doesn't mean I am Torao." He snapped angrily. He had been foolish enough to think that his partner would actually do his job when they were away from home. He'd been wrong. Ever since they'd reunited day in and day out Torao had been trying to stop Hisoka from playing the game as they called it.
"Kameko-san and Ryouma-san won't be happy with you when they find out..." He muttered turning to look back at the kirin. He hated those two as much as Torao did but he knew mentioning them to be an effective tool for silencing the cat.
When Akiyo showed up things didn't improve. Something was off. Generally Torao ordered the Wolf around and Akiyo ignored him. This was one of the first times Hisoka had ever seen the two actually talk. His eyes narrowed as he looked from one to the other. "Two days... Sarin has been like that for two days. What is going on here? Akiyo, you knew too?" This was a new feeling for Hisoka. He'd grown accustomed to Torao keeping secrets but he'd never thought Akiyo would be the type to bother himself with them.
"Hisoka, shut up for a minute." The look in the older stallion's eyes promised murder of the Fox if he didn't stop talking. He liked the kid, even if he was a child no longer, that was true, but he had never been a patient creature and that patience was about to snap. He was not in a mood to be lectured about the stupid game. The game was gone, dead, never to be played again but Hisoka refused to stop and now he was acting like the damn thing still dictated Torao's life. It, most assuredly, did no such thing. He'd played because he had wanted to not because he needed to and that want had did the day the Fox had fled.
Upon Akiyo's arrival he rolled his eyes. "Please get your a** down here and do something." Came his sharp retort. It wasn't needed. He didn't care.
For the entirety of three seconds Torao was glad that Hisoka had ignored him and chosen to speak. That went away quickly. "Hisoka, seriously, stop talking." He growled to the youngest before fixing his sights on Akiyo. "Yes, she needs to get away from here. He didn't stop. If she stays here the scent will keep her down until she starves herself to death." There was a deep frown on his face as he spoke.
For a long moment he debated about telling Hisoka anything but figured it was the best way to keep him quiet at least for a little while. "It's blood that does this to kirin...not all of them but the really pure ones...I thought it would get you to stop but a guess not!" He shot the Fox an angry look.
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:00 am
"I knew, but you were aware of the situation as well, were you not?" He looked at the white stallion, knowing that Torao had already informed him about the Kirin's sensitivity to the scent of blood and how it affects them. He then paused before adding, raising an eyebrow as he approached the limp body of the mare, wondering how he was supposed to move it, "Although I would understand why you wouldn't listen to Torao... Nobody seems to, after all."
He was normally rather civil towards Hisoka, but today was different; he was accusing Torao and himself of something they did not do. However, judging from the situation, it seems like Torao had been keeping a huge secret from Hisoka... So it was not fully his fault for pushing the blame onto others.
"You need to tell him the full story," Akiyo glanced at Torao momentarily before grabbing the edge of the wolf pelt on his back with his teeth, giving it a hard tug to pull it off his back. The sharp tooth securing it in place fell to the ground as he shoved the pelt under the unconscious Kirin as gently as he could, glad that she was of small stature. Looking up, he eyed the pair again, "I'll move her far from this place. Once she is away, she should slowly regain her health."
Sometimes, he felt like the only voice of reason around.
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:24 am
Hisoka looked about ready to bite Akiyo's head off. He had not been aware of the entire situation. All he had been told was that something bad would happen if he didn't stop killing people. Torao had not told him what that bad thing was. Arguing with him over this, however, seemed like a moot point. They wouldn't get anywhere and what was done was done.
Now that he knew what had caused it he felt horrible. He understood why Torao had thought it would get him to stop, but of all the convoluted plans Torao had ever had this had to have been the worst! And if what Akiyo was saying was true, which it probably was, it was troublesome to lie, then there was even more to all of this than anyone was letting him in on.
"The full story?" His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What story...?"
Torao's immediate thought following Akiyo's words was 'I do not!' That was something he'd been hoping to keep secret until the end of time. It was on a need to know basis and he didn't think Hisoka really needed to know.
Reflecting on the situation at hand, a rare process for Torao, he was coming to realize that maybe he really did need to know. Hisoka still clung to the past, it was the only way of life he really knew. All attempts to break him from it thus far had ended in miserable failure after miserable failure. On occasion it had ended with bruised chests, legs and bodies. Still, he didn't want to be the one to tell him, but wasn't that what had sent the Fox running in the first place? His reluctance to say the truth before someone else did.
He could feel Hisoka's gaze boring holes into him expectantly. Still, he hesitated. "You tell him Akiyo." He grumbled doing what he could to not meet Hisoka's gaze.
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:25 am
"No, you started this, you end this," Akiyo simply replied, his tone suggesting that there was no use trying to change his mind. While he had made rescuing Sabella his business since that was the only way to get Hisoka to stop playing the "game" that he had helped stomp out the roots, he did not want to play a part in what he thought to be a messy partner-relationship. After all, as much as he loathed his partner in the past, he had never lied to her - why go through the trouble? The truth will uncover itself eventually!
He eyed Torao again, narrowing his eyes before gesturing at Hisoka with a tilt of his head. Then, he grabbed the edge of the wolf pelt with his teeth, now loaded with a Kirin unconscious due to blood fever, and pulling her away from the two stallions. The sight was rather comedic; while he was in no way struggling, a Soquili trying to pull another Soquili away was quite the sight. If not for the fact that the atmosphere was so tense, he would never have agreed to it - they'll probably never let this memory go if they weren't focused on each other... At least, that's the plan.
Not sure where to go, he headed for the first place to come to his mind - the forest he had been resting in for the past few days. If he hurled her into the forest deep enough and wash her, it should get rid of all the blood scent that might had collected on her pelt. There were also winter berries for food, fresh snow and streams for water... Plenty of trees to nap under while keeping watch.
Perfect.
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Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:10 am
For the time being Hisoka was considering herding both of them into the forest and shoving them both into his pit. He didn't care that it was broad daylight and that he had been trained to only kill one person unless threatened. He was getting tired of the run around.
"Would you two stop it?!" He snarled his muscles going tense. His body was preparing itself for a fight. "Just tell me already!" He kept his narrowed gaze focused on Torao. There wasn't a point in trying to get anything out of Akiyo once his mind was set on doing something, or rather, not doing something.
"Damn Wolf..." He grumbled before turning to face a very livid Fox. He'd seen those eyes and that posture before. He'd also been on the receiving end of several blows and wasn't eager to get any more of them. "It's not something you want to know, Hisoka." He said finally always reluctant to have these sorts of talks.
"Of course it is." He countered stubbornly. If he was asking about it it was because he wanted to know.
"No, it's not." He frowned. "I've told you a hundred times before now and you never listened. The game is over. Has been since Akiyo and I left."
Hisoka snorted. That again? That was not a secret. Torao had been telling him the same nonsense for many moons now. "Why wouldn't it be?" He countered. "Just because you and Akiyo stopped doesn't mean the rest of us have."
"Believe me when I say that isn't true." He looked away from Hisoka as he spoke glaring up into the heavens. A silence had fallen over the snowy field. He hoped they were watching from up there because he was about to destroy the last player in the game as much as it pained him to do so.
He took in a deep breath as he prepared himself for what he knew was going to come. Some things were kept secret for a reason. They were just to hard for others to accept. "Kiyomi fled when it happened, we don't know where she is." Torao lowered his head to meet Hisoka's eyes. He wanted the Fox to know that he was not making anything he said up. "Hisoka, Ryouma-san and Kameko-san are dead...I killed them. Akiyo helped me. The game is dead, Hisoka. You're the only one still playing."
The red marked stallion had been struck dumb with the news. They were dead? That wasn't possible. They'd taken care of Hisoka for so long. They'd given him a place to stay and a purpose in life. They'd trained him. They'd helped sharpen his mind and steel his soul. They couldn't just be gone, not just like that.
"Lies...more lies..." He'd forced a dark smile onto his lips as he shook his head in disbelief. "I told you to tell me the truth Torao!" Without any thought he bowed his head and charged the larger stallion angrily. He felt it connect with something harder than a rock, presumably Torao's skull. "Why do you always have to lie to me?!"
He'd blocked Hisoka's strike with one of his own. It didn't make him happy to do it but he wasn't about to let the kid beat him up. "It's not a lie..." He growled. "And you know it." He shifted his weight to push the Fox back. "It's over...we smashed our lanterns right before we left."
He stumbled backwards a little way before regaining his footing. He searched Torao's face for the hints of the cruel joke that Hisoka believed it to be. There was nothing. Torao was telling the truth.
"They're gone..." His voice had gone hollow from shock. "Then...I...and you...what..."
Torao actually felt somewhat guilty for what he had done now, an unusual feeling for the stallion. He knew ending it had been for the best even if it didn't seem like it. "For now...let's take a bath..." It wouldn't fix anything but it might clear Hisoka's head enough for him to think. There was a long road ahead of them. All of them but figuring out how to get down that road wasn't something Torao would know how to do. It would have to wait for a day when everyone was able to think straight. for now, getting Hisoka to the water was a big enough step to take.
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