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 Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 6:55 pm
Albel Nox was on the prowl. Of course, there was rarely a time when he wasn't in such a mood. It seemed that the young nobleman was constantly in a foul mood. But then, he was comfortable that way. He could hardly remember a time when he had been anything but surly and angry. Angry at the world, angry at himself... Anger was certainly his defining emotion. With a heavy sigh- as no one was around to hear the slip in his defenses- he lifted his gauntlet, as if to examine the oh so familiar piece of metal.
What had that Air Elemental told him? That he looked unique? Hardly. He sneered at the distorted reflection of himself, and set the metal limb back down with a heavy thump, a soft snarl coming from him. There wasn't anything unique or special about him. A self-hating narcissist. That was what he was. Another sort snarl, a low sound emitting from deep within his throat, worked it's way into life.
Padding along the forest floor, crimson gaze sweeping for any potential enemy or food source. Thin and wiry as he was, he did need some sort of nourishment, and he hadn't exactly been vigilant about his food intake. A soft sound- this time issuing from his stomach- made it's way to his ears, and the Captain of the Black Brigade began to hunt.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:58 pm
 Tsu-Kitsu had decided something to herself: she didn't like forests very much at all! This was the second time she'd managed to get herself lost in one, throwing sad little glances up at the branch-swallowed sky in a vain hope that perhaps the trees would be kind enough to part and let her fly out. The female kitsu was careful to keep her great wings folded tightly at her sides, the tattered remains of the grey dress draped on her body dragging slighly in the dirt. Silvery tails swished uncertainly as she padded here and there, peeking a helmed head around thick tree trunks from time to time, as though she'd magically find an opening that way.
"No luck, Mr. Leechy..." She sounded a little downcast, her ears flicking--and nearly dislodged the bloated, zombified parasite that had attached itself there. Wincing a little at the gurgling screech she received, the female muttered a quick apology and hurried on. What if she couldn't get out? It didn't look like Stitchy-Boy would be there to save her this time! But something moving caught her eye, and Tsu-Kitsu halted without warning, the metal-tipped boots that covered her back paws scuffing into the forest floor some. "Oh!" She'd never seen someone like that before!
"'Scuse me!" Tsu-Kitsu chirped, bounding after the male with little regards to the branches around her--practically tripping over one before she'd managed to reach her. "Hi! I'm Tsu-Kitsu! Whatcha doing? You don't, uh, know of a way out, do ya?" Silver tails wagged a little hopefully, and frosted hues barely even noticed the strange appearance of the other, only fixed on his face for now. It was rude to stare, after all!
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:53 am
Albel turned wine-red eyes to look at the Kitsusagi that made her way clumsily over to him. He noted with some surprise and interest that she had wings. Eying her for a few moments, opting not to respond to her multitude of questions and comments, he simply studied her.Tsu-Kitsu, she said her name was. Was Kitsu a title, or part of her name? There was still so, so much that he didn't know about this world he had been dropped into.
Finally, he chose to speak. "I'm Albel Nox," he said in response to her first comment, his voice low and soft. She didn't seem like much a threat... More bumbling fool than enemy. Not to mention he had only met a few women in his life time that he could ever bestow the title of 'threat' upon. This hyper-active female was not one of those few.
"I'm not doing anything at the moment but taking in my surroundings, trying to gain my bearings." Odd, that he would admit that he didn't know exactly where he was... Odd that he would admit that he didn't know something at all. "I'm sure if you go back the way you came, you'll find your way out." He sniffed, and looked her of again. "You have wings. Fly."
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:07 pm
Oh, pretty eyes! Blue ones held his curiously for a moment, blinking brightly, mincing a little in place when he didn't respond right away. Had he heard her? Maybe she should ask again--oh, there he went! "Albel Nox?" She repeated, making sure she got it right before nodding smartly to herself. "Oh, and this is Mr. Leechy." Tsu-Kitsu said as an afterthought, giving her head a sharp rattle in order to properly dislodge the bloodsucker. Angrily, the huge parasite emitted a gurgling hiss of warning, flexing its toothy maw in the direction of the newcomer before it slithered across the female's neck and disappeared down her back, apparently not one for company. "He's a little grumpy, but don't mind him!"
"Oh, well, that's the problem!" She acknowledged, nodding a little, "I don't remember how I came in! And I would fly, but the trees are too thick here. I can't get out that way!" Wait, what'd he say? 'Gain his bearings'? Did that mean he was lost too? "Ohh, I see." Surprisingly, Tsu-Kitsu didn't sound too disconcerted, tails flicking thoughtfully here and there. "It's a pretty forest, at least. Not so nice when it gets dark..."
Tsu-Kitsu gave him a curious look once more, still continuing to mince in place some. "Well, maybe we could help each other? It's not very nice being alone, either!" Yes, she'd be perfectly content if there was someone to chatter at--Mr. Leechy was a good companion, he was! He just...wasn't the most vocal.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 1:19 pm
Albel watched in something akin to disgust as the leech moved it's way across the other's body. "Get that off of you," he snapped out, the leech bringing to mind blood. With blood, came battles. And taken lives. "Leeches aren't supposed to be friends. They're parasites." The metal talons of his gauntlet clicked upon the rocky ground in what was probably irritation- but could also be nervousness. She wouldn't sit still... It was setting him on edge, and he wished that he had been brought to this place with more than just his metal arm.
"The dark isn't scary," he said in response to her comment about the woods during the night. "There isn't anything more or less dangerous about the night than there is about the day." If anything, the daylight was more horrifying... Harsh, bright, exposing everything ugly that twined around his soul. He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. All of this because the female in front of him was stupid enough to keep a leech as a pet!
"Keep going in one direction, then. Eventually, you'll come to an end of the forest." He shrugged his shoulder- the one attached to his whole flesh and blood arm- and gestured vaguely. "Pick a direction and go." Yes, this female made him nervous, with her chipper words and busy movements. He didn't like being around people to begin with. And this girl was really setting him on edge.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:50 pm
"Wha?" Tsu-Kitsu looked confused for a moment, her ears tipping back a little to only further that point--until she realized he was talking about Mr. Leechy. "Oh! Well, I know..." She still sounded uncertain, and the clicking of that big, metal-thing attached to his arm had caught her eye. What was that? The cruelly hooked talons looked sharp, glinting even in the faint, dusty beams of sunlight that filtered themselves through the brambles suspended above. "But I don't have any other friends...and Mr. Leechy stays with me all the time then! Since he needs me and all..." It made sense to her.
Blinking a little, the silvery female tried to make sense of that. "But you can't see what's in the dark! You never know what could be in there." No, no, his logic was sort of silly...but Tsu didn't mind. Even his next bits of advice made her tilt her head, tails swishing softly against the ground. "Oh...Well then, what about you? You don't want to come out of the forest too?"
That arm again--when he shrugged it, it immediately caught her eye, and she tilted her head a little to get a better look, obviously curious. "You could come with me!" Yes, wouldn't that be a good idea? Better than being stuck alone by yourself! "I don't mind, promise!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:10 pm
Albel sneered slightly at the thought of keeping a leech as a pet, as a friend... In a twisted sort of way, he could understand why the raggedly-clad female wanted to keep it with her. And yet the idea of such a parasite on her skin, draining away her blood... It sent a shiver of disgust through him. But then, how was he any different from the leech? He had made his living upon the blood of others, had he not?
As for going with her... "I think not," he stated dryly, crimson eyes looking away from her curious blue ones. What was it like, he wondered, to be so innocent? He noted her 'discreet' looks towards his gauntlet. Was it really so odd, that he was missing a limb, and had had it replaced? Perhaps around here such things weren't as commonplace... Or perhaps it was just that no one knew him here, and thus wasn't aware of his past, or his status as a noble, and captain of one of Ariglyph's military branches.
"You may not mind my presence, but I would mind yours." Almost immediately, he wished to take that words back. It was like telling a small child that they were in the way, when they were simply trying to help. Even the Wicked One wasn't so heartless- at least when there wasn't anyone around to notice his softness. "That is to say, I simply wish to be on my own."
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:43 pm
Ears flattened instantly at his words, and the female offered an uncertain sort of smile for him, even when he went as far to recitify his statement. Well, it wasn't his fault, she reminded herself, doing her best to straighten up and shake out her wings a little. Xaldin had acted that way too! Maybe they weren't so much grumpy, since this was the second person who didn't seem to be in the best of moods. "Oh, well, okay." She agreed, paws digging a little uncertainly at the forest floor. "Well, I can go away..."
With that, Tsu-Kitsu twitched her ears, glancing in different directions. Pick one and go, huh? Well eeney meenie miney...? Twisting her head back around, the female wagged her tails a little, smiling openly at the other. "Thanks for helping me, Albel! Though if you get loooost..." Her voice had a particularly lilt in it, almost teasing by the way she grinned at him afterwards. Wings spread, as though they were going to help her dash away through the forest--but without warning, she paused again.
"Um." Ears tipped back a litte, but she wasn't going to back down from asking. "I'm sorry if you don't wanna talk about it...but your arm's all shiny...Is it heavy much? Why do you wear it?" She had to know, before she went. She'd never seen such a thing, after all!
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:12 pm
Albel was prepared to watch her go, feeling only the slightest twinges of regret. Over the years, he had taught himself to ignore any feelings- aside from pain. And even then, he only felt pain because it told him what he could and could not do, physically. And for a long while, that was all that had mattered to him, because the feelings of the heart and the soul were too much to think of. So he had convinced himself that he didn't possess either.
"My arm? Ah, you mean my gauntlet." He lifted it, the metal moving silently, easily, like the well-built replacement limb it was meant to be. Even for someone such as him, who had come as close to not having a soul as humanly possible, who had spent nearly ten years repressing feelings and focusing only on becoming stronger, the memory of how he had gained his arm still cut to his very core.
Back home, everyone- and it really was everyone- knew the circumstances surrounding the loss and replacement of his arm. And back home, where his reputation was well known, those who didn't know had the sense not to ask. And thus, he was thrust into the odd situation of having to answer a question he had never once been asked in his relatively short lifetime. "It replaces an arm I lost quite some time ago," he said at length.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:51 pm
"Oh! Is that what it's called?" Tsu-Kitsu's ears were pricked as the metal behemoth stirred, its clawed tips silent even though she was sure that at some point, they'd probably screamed through the air as they lashed out at someone. A gauntlet...So strange! But as he went so far to describe why he wore it...Grey wings tucked themselves firmly against her sides, ears wilting, tails slinking between her legs. "I'm so sorry." She squeaked a little, frosty eyes wide with shock. "I didn't know."
To lose an arm...? She could hardly imagine it. It must have been painful...but she kept those thoughts to herself. "And you've dealt with it all this time? That's courageous." Tsu-Kitsu didn't sound as though her opinion would matter much, but voiced it all the same, ears pricking a little. "So they gave you that...that gauntlet to replace it?" Well, it probably could never replace an arm, but certainly better than nothing! "It's lucky they have those made." She said ruefully, frowning a little at it.
"...So you really don't want me to come with you? I can be quiet!" Tsu-Kitsu offered feebly, her tails starting to wag a little again. See? They could have a nice conversation! Surely he wouldn't mind too much...?
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:10 pm
Lucky? He hadn't ever, ever thought of it in such terms. Lucky that he lost his father, his arm, his chance at anything resembling a normal life? Hardly lucky, to have lost all of that. To have caused the loss of all of that. And yet... What he lucky to have his gauntlet, to be able to use it in lieu of a true arm? Perhaps. It wasn't something he wanted to think upon at the moment. Especially since it was getting dark, and he had yet to find any dinner.
"I'll allow you to come with me, but only if you get rid of that disgusting leech. It's not that he needs you. He just needs someone. Let some other host come along and pick him up. He isn't doing you any favors by being on your person at all times, I can promise you that." With a semi-irritated flick of his tails, he waited for her decision. Why he was letting her come with him, he couldn't exactly explain, even to himself. Just has he hadn't been able to explain helping those Outworlder's, in what seemed like a whole lifetime ago...
"So it's the leech or myself," he stated firmly with a nod, getting to his feet, gauntlet moving seamlessly with him, as if it truly were part of his body, and not simply a replacement for something he had lost long, long ago.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:45 pm
Those azure eyes immediately brightened at first, then dimmed some when she realized what she was faced with. So she could go with him...but Mr. Leechy would have to stay? "I'd be worried about him." The silver female said softly, shaking her head a little bit until she could feel the parasite begin to dislodge itself. "He might just need someone, but he's not very strong by himself..." Another fierce shake of herself, and the zombie leech popped off, a sickly sweet smell of decay accompaning its gurgling screech of rage. The female eyed it for a moment, feeling guilt and sadness well up in her heart before she straightened and trotted uncertainly after Albel, glancing over one shoulder at the abandoned parasite--which had no intention of staying abandoned, and oozed irritably after her.
Tsu-Kitsu couldn't help but think of the little creature, even as she moved behind Albel. Was it wrong, to leave him like that? Yes, true--he needed someone...but she'd been that someone. "Is it wrong to need people?" She asked without warning, eyes slightly clouded with worry. "Or things, even. Like...like your guantlet." Whether she was simply talking about the leech anymore was unknown. "We need some things, don't we?" Or were they better off without some of them?
"I'm sorry." She apologized without warning, the uncertain stream of words cutting off. "I've...just had him with me for so long. It doesn't feel right to just leave him." She wanted to go with this stranger, if just for company...but to abandon another friend while doing it? The leech, of course, was keeping pace easily enough, its zombie-talents good for that much.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 8:26 pm
How did he answer such a loaded question? Was it wrong to need people? To need things, like his gauntlet, or that unnatural leech? "I... I can't answer that," he admitted finally, crimson eyes looking at the forest floor as he walked. He could hear that damnable leech slurching and lurching behind them, squelching over the leaves and sticks and stones of the ground. "But I can tell you that the leech isn't good for you, and is wrong to have around. While is may not survive without you, it certainly won't help you survive if you have it with you. Do you understand that?"
He paused and turned around, his talons itching to tear into that slimy thing of horror, having never seen anything like it before. It was obviously a leech- it sucked against Tsu-Kitsu's skin, and obviously craved to be attached to her. Or perhaps to him, now that he was about. "You're not leaving behind a friend or a family member or a loved one. You're leaving behind something that takes and takes, and does not give back."
As if realizing how dangerously close he was getting to sounding like he cared, he snarled softly, and shook his head. "Just leave it alone. There's no reason to bring it with you."
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:19 am
Couldn't answer...? Tsu-Kitsu blinked a little, glancing over her shoulder to dubiously eye the determined parasite. "...I understand." She nodded a little, but was obviously still mulling it over in her head. So, one shouldn't have things that they couldn't survive without? So Mr. Leechy might not survive at all...That alone was nearly enough to make her stop and scoop him up, but she kept going, ears flicking anxiously from time to time to listen for him still.
As Albel stopped without warning, she squeaked and darted around him to avoid running into him, peeping around for the sight of Mr. Leechy even as his words reached her. "Well, he's comforting sometimes. He's someone to talk to..." Tsu-Kitsu offered, a frown starting to pull across her muzzle. She'd never thought about him like that before. He took and took and didn't give back...That wasn't what friends were for, right? But could he help it?
The snarl made her blink, tails twitching a little. "Well. I just met you, but you sound like a smart person, Albel..." Tsu-Kitsu's tails twitched a little more before she finally said, "...I'll trust you."
The leech in question had little regards for Albel, even going so far as to rear up and snarl at him, its toothy maw pulling back to reveal hundreds of serrated fangs. And with that, it tried to chomp down on that metal gauntlet, teeth grinding noisily against the surface. Failing to reach flesh, it immediately detached with a gurgle of disapproval--and bit down on the other paw, immediately slithering up the furry apendage in order to better feed itself.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:57 pm
Albel watched as the leech hurried to catch up with them. He was sure now that it wasn't a normal leech. Too big, too mobile... Too smart, at that. "Where did you get that thing?" he asked, gaze moving from the leech to Tsu, who flailed not to run into him, because of his sudden stop. "It's not-" he paused as he heard, rather than felt- the teeth of the leech attempt to latch onto his metal arm. Raising his gauntlet a bit, he was about to attempt to fling it away, before it let go. With horror-laced fascination, he watched the creature slither it's way over to his flesh arm.
A small grunt of pain came from the purple-clad male, and immediately he swiped his clawed hand down his foreleg, separating the leech from his flesh with a disgusting squelching sound. "I'm no one's meal ticket," he grumbled, metal talons flexing as he picked up the demonic thing, one of his claws sliding deep into it's gel-like body. "Disgusting thing," he sneered. Turning a bit, he lobbed the leech easily, watching with a small amount of satisfaction as it landed with a thud against a tree quite a ways away.
Dragging his gauntleted hand along the forest floor, he rubbed away the majority of the slime and whatever else was on that leech. Blood oozed slowly from the opening the leech had created. Slime was around that area as well, and Albel was anything but eager to let the stuff get into his body. He rubbed the wound along the forest floor, picking a patch of leaves to try and clean it as best he could. With the majority of the film gone, he lapped gingerly at the wound, wanting the bleeding to stop. It was a minor wound, thankfully, and it didn't take much encouragement for it to begin to clot and scab.
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