Chapter 1: A Hero's Return
A bright morning as brought us to Lina, one of the original heros of the events proceeding this story. Now living in a small village, Lina is startled to discover a stranger in the village, a rarity in this day in age, where traveling has lost some of it's popularity. Upon following the stranger, Sarafina, into the local inn, she comes across Ziena, a former member of her team. They are joined by a young fox demon who claims to be called Narumi, who looks suspiciously like Nami, another hero of the past, and Raam, a mysterious former member of their group.
Leaving Raam at the inn, who proceeds to follow Kirei, another young fox demon into the woods, Lina takes Ziena and Narumi to her small cottage, and informs them of the Garden and the Gate, eventually producing her key, a small, unassuming piece of molded gold. Ziena also has a similar key, while Narumi possesses a darker version of the same key. The three part ways, with the promise of retuning to the cottage later that evening; Ziena for the forest, Narumi in pursuit of this 'garden', and Lina to find wild vegetables for dinner.
Meeting up with Raam, an old friend from the past, Lina and he discuss where their lives have led them to this point, the unspoken comradere between the two apparent. Lina and Raam part ways, Raam to head into town, and Lina to continue her foraging. She comes across Kirei lying in a clearing, and offers her a place to eat and rest for the evening. She seems reluctant at first, but the demon agrees and follows Lina into town. They find Raam and a new player to the scene, a kitsune named Goth, causing some trouble. Lina's key begins to burn, and one of Raam's scythes reacts to the light. Before Raam can question the strange key however, Goth takes one of his scythes and tries to run for it. Naturally she doesn't get very far.
The ever quiet Kirei and Raam have an exchange, and some of her old exterior is broken down in a blush. Could Kirei have some attraction to Raam? Lina happens to see this moment and feels a burn of her own. Could it be jealousy...?
The group returns to Lina's home, where a delicious meal is waiting for them. Nami, and even Raam decide to rest at the cottage of their old friend. Kirei, who had again taken off into the woods, decides that she too could use a hot meal, and wanders to Lina's. She and Raam again meet face to face, yet this time it is Raam who leaves, opting to sit on the roof. Kirei asks Lina what she knows about Raam, only to have Lina express her own feelings. Kirei takes off once again, this time for good, as Lina and Raam watch from the roof. It seems that Kirei has the 'scent' of someone from the fire clan, as Raam says. In the morning, Lina and Raam will set off to find her! And gather more keys of course!
II. Into the Forest
It seems as though the plot thickens in this chapter, in more ways than one! Keiri stumbles across a key, lying abandoned in the forest where she walks. How could it have gotten there? Raam sets off to find her and well, feed her, as well as get the information he desires from her. Namely, what clan she is from. She reveals that she is indeed from the Fire Fox clan, as Raam suspected, the same clan as he himself is from. The two talk for a time, ending with her refusal to return to Lina's cabin with him, jealousy and sadness over Raam's seemingly cold attitude towards her.
The forest seems to be able to sense the dark events coming its way, as the weather continues to worsen from simple clouds of the threat of rain. As Raam returns to Lina and Narumi to report Keiri's possession of a key, a dark wolf named Devon appears. He seems to have been watching the group since they met up together, as he seeks to take the keys for himself. He decides to find Keiri himself first, before going after Lina, his 'target'.
Once he meets with Keiri, he attempts to win her over with his good looks and charm, but to no avail. Keiri, in hopes that he will kill her, reveals that she is immortal, as only her loved one would be able to kill her. Needless to say, his act does not go over well, ending with a scuffle between the two; Keiri with a chunk of her hair cut off and a torn blouse, and Devon with a scratch to his neck. What could his true intentions be...?
Meanwhile, Keiri stumbles across a wounded wolf demon, apparently unconnected to our dear friend Devon. Carrying her to the cottage, and after having Lina nurse her to health, this wolf named Goth claims to be a fallen princess, her powers stripped and on the run. Could she be a member of Devon's group? Or are we being paranoid? It continues with Keiri also finding an abandoned wolf pup who calls herself Tut, who for all her cuteness could also be related to Devon. (Because you know...all wolf demons are related?
) For the first time it seems, wolves are beginning to come out of the wood work, but why?
Raam returns to the group and heads to the hot springs, where in comical fashion he is seen in the buff by our dear Keiri. Narumi also heads to the spring, and Lina too, who witnesses the spar between these two heavy weight fighters. They are interrupted by Keiri and Devon, sitting in the trees. Keiri claims to be willing to help Devon in his plot to take over Paradise, is she telling the truth? And why is it that Devon cannot seem to tare his eyes away from Narumi? After a brief fight, it becomes clear what his intentions are; to take the keys to Paradise's forgotten gate for himself! He managed to take back the key he planted from Keiri at the end of this battle, leaving the three women to think on what had just happened.
The Forest stirs with evil...
III. Let This Be Our Prayer...
It seems that the forest can only take so much of the evil energies that it is playing an unwilling host to! The sky darkens and the people of the village wonder if they have angered their gods. As rain begins to stream from the sky, so too do people from their homes, headed to the temple at the center of town, to pray for forgiveness.
Devon finds this hilarious, from his perch some distance away. His introspection is interrupted by Narumi, who has just located another key in the remnants of a cottage. They have a slight talk, Devon allowing Narumi a few questions. What could he be planning...? It turns out that Devon sends Narumi on a little task for him; to steal a ring belonging to Lina, given to her by Lyone. Narumi completes this task, leading Lina to wonder with rage; what happened to the Nami she once knew...?
Keiri continues her training of little Tut, flexing her mothering skills without her knowledge! And Goth is again jumped by a group of wolves. This time, it is Raam that comes to her rescue. The two return to the cottage, to Lina, where they discuss the locals' response to the evil presence in their home. Lina explains that the locals of the village believe that the forest is a God unto itself, and it is angry with them, causing the haywire weather to occur. Both Goth and Raam mock this belief, calling it foolish, though Lina merely plays it neutral. Goth leaves the cottage after Lina suggests they all cook together, but Raam stays to help.
In the forest, Goth runs into Devon, who had been resting in a tree. She offers him her key to Paradise, while Devon questions her motives. What could she be after...? And what of Narumi, who has Lina's ring and is waiting for Devon's next action?
At the cottage, Lina insists that Devon is not nearly as bad as he seems, and asks Raam to not kill him. Our favorite little killer says that he will try his best not to cause a fight, but no promises. With a kiss on his cheek, Lina seems to be calmed, and heads outside to gather some more herbs for dinner, leaving Raam to figure out how to properly fry fish and vegetables.
In the forest, Lina encounters Devon, and after a brief, mildly physical encounter, tells Devon that spare the village and take the keys that Narumi possesses. Devon calls this action 'turn coat', and comments that this change somehow makes her more attractive. He leaves Lina alone with a bruised cheek, to wonder if she had somehow done the right thing...
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it's nami from the demon fox guild. I know the guild has died suddenly but i was hoping to revive it, or mainly just the ones who were rping in ~*~ The Awakening: D&K II ~*~ I really wanna get it up and going again, and was hoping you would come back.
Yous MAH UKE!