Ragged Souls and Cleaning Fools[Kazan/zavijah]

[Vaitris]

Kazan’s gaze followed her sword as it floated away, divided, and came to rest near the tree he’d indicated. It didn’t show in his expression, but he was mildly surprised that his request hadn’t been met with any resistance. Though perhaps the attitude with which the blade had been sent away before he finished speaking was a bit fractious.

His shikigami took flight, a small white form fluttering into the foliage to disappear from sight. He could still feel its presence though, and knew when it was positioned where it needed to be. Kazan canted a look at the child, expression neutral but tail curled slightly in anticipation. “Now.”

His puppet blazed with light and whipped through the trunk in less than the blink of an eye. Nearly in sync, their trees began to fall, wood groaning and leaves rustling. The halflings looked up, alarm naked on their faces, but didn’t have time to escape before green crashed over them.

Kazan lips quirked into a small smile. “Go.” He urged, legs coiling to leap down the embankment towards the hidden door. Before he could move though, the woods were abruptly draped in darkness. Branches crashed and leaves rained down as an enormous bird broke through the canopy and descended on them like a hurricane, claws outstretched toward Zavijah.

[okami1reeka333]

zavijah:


In a smooth mechanically cold movement, she moved the placed blades so that one slit through the trees, whist the other pushed them with the broad side of the weapon towards the halflings. . . before having her weapon reunite with itself and return to her hand. . . . She did not pay mind to the half pony, she was more keen on being away from the annoyance. . . someone this keen that they are right, and constantly dragging her or whomever has the displeasure of being with them to easily avoidable situations is not one she was keen apon having anything to do with. . . .


She moved to grab her bo-staff when a shadow suddenly loomed over the two. . . . .She did not have the time to properly jump out of the way and dodge before the colossal talons gripped around her as she moved to block; resulting in her arms and sword becoming pinned within the razor tipped grapnel of the massive winged beast. . .


Did. . .did she get adopted by a Roc?!? . . .Or was this the one from 3 months ago? . . . It seemed immensely confused at the sudden added weight when it first attempted to take off just for the weight of Kazan to drag the monstrously sized bird along the ground for a moment. . . like an Air ballon with an forgotten anchor keeping them from truly taking off.


Her head snapped towards Kazan as it started to take off with her in tow. . .before she had her bo staff move where it snapped towards the hind legs of the mule, where it rested at the inner bend of the knees, as a pseudo seat for the half pony. . . before like a tether, pulled it towards her to try and match the bird's strength in flight before the confusion of the dragging weight lifts the both of them leaves the beast. . . . .


It had not taken off quite yet, though she rather not deal with being tethered to a detached arm while dealing with being taken away by an animal. . . .what if the bird felt the arm was food, and she was still able to feel pain from the discarded limb? What of decomposition? Though perhaps wiser just to remove her own . . .and prepare for the curse to take hold, as much as it disgusts her. Though with the blade pinned, she could not. . .

[Vaitris]

The enormous bird dropped into the clearing, wing crashing over Kazan and momentarily blinding him as it flapped to take flight again, this time with the child pinned in its claws. The band around his arm immediately tightened, dragging him away and up. He kicked up grass and dirt as he tried to resist, but his hooves still left the ground as he was carried away.

The great bird flapped hard, every wingbeat taking them higher and higher. It couldn’t regain its previous altitude though, not with a heavy centaur dragging them down, and it screeched a complaint as it fought to fly. Pain thundered from Kazan’s wrist to his shoulder. His arm was straining to support a weight it was never intended to hold. Despite the child’s efforts to help him with her staff, it wasn’t quite enough to save him from the torture though it surely saved his hand.

For a moment as they climbed into the air, all thought abandoned Kazan as fear surged through him instead. He was flying, suspended helplessly in the sky. The ground had never been so far away as it was right now. To fall from this height would break his legs, if not shatter him altogether. He tried to shut his mind to the morbid vision, wrestling back enough control to call his shikigami even as both his hearts continued to race, feeling out of sync with one another.

The puppet raced back to him like a tiny bolt of lightning. It arced towards the bird, aimed, but missed. It pierced the meat of one leg and shot out the other side in a spurt of blood and shorn feathers. The roc cried out and its wingbeats faltered. The lurching shot sparks up and down Kazan’s arm and he steeled himself against a sound of pain.

Somehow, stubbornly, the beast continued to fly even as red rained down on both him and Zavijah. He’d been aiming to remove the foot that clutched the child but had succeeded only in wounding it, and not fatally. But the limb hung lower now, streaming blood, its grip weakened. Kazan pulled on his shikigami again and it whipped back around, priming for a second strike.

[okami1reeka333]

zavijah:


she felt the similar pain of her limb threatened to being torn off, only being starved off thanks to the bo staff being placed just where it was. . .her head snapped towards the limb restraining her when the bird suddenly jolted. . glancing between where the wound leaked onto her and back towards the mule precariously hanging by a thread and a stick. . . the grip did loosen from what she noticed. . . so with renewed stubbornness, she tried to free her left hand again, managing to get it just free enough to reach into her Butt purse to summon her Greatsword. She was just going to settle with sneaking out of the nest again if it went to its tree, but if Kazan was this hellbent on the easier route, she was not going to complain. Shes fallen from quite high distances before and broke her fall many times using her Greatsword to 'push' herself upward to slow the fall. . . .Though with Kazan, she doubts either of them will stick a landing properly.


Given how fast and how high the bird was flying, she will need to at least be able to slow their momentum. . .aim for a tree to lodge the half pony into like an anchor without killing or breaking him. . .then chop the tree down to bring him the rest of the way down to the ground. . . . "Kazan, grab the bo staff and brace yourself with it!" she ordered. "aim for a younger tree!"


less of a chance of impalement, she thinks. . . Sure, he might be rolled like a barrel down a branch. . . but it was better than eating the side of a mountain again. The Greatsword floated by her side, its ominous aura startling the Roc abit from the sudden appearance when the second strike landed. This caused the Roc to cry out in pain once again, and as if flicking its limb would get whatever is biting it off, it flicked its talon, unwittingly flicking its catch away into a free fall. She had her Greatsword come to hand, and held herself and the weapon at least so she could be around the same level as Kazan's hooves. She focused her aura into the blade.


Aimming for one of the younger trees, she quickly braced her weapon against the bottom of Kazan's front hooves, she aimmed to throw him on top of a branch to catch him. . .the Bo- staff will hopefully help protect him during the tumble, if not keep him from being impaled. . . the upward force would help bounce him on top just in the case he was not thrown up high enough. . .assuming he took hold of the staff. She braced herself to avoid accidentally being thrown off and taking both of them for a spin.


"aweorpan(cast)" she growled. There was a sudden burst of energy that was expelled from the opposed side of the broad side of the blade from where Kazan's hooves were forcibly planted. The forward motion was slowed abit, but the downward motion; given the angling she had the blade, was ceased. . . a controlled fall into a tree. . gliding with suddenly broken glider.


Gravity will win out since this was just to thrust them upward to slow their fall, but she moved to focus her aura into her weapon again. . . She did not know if she can do this again in time, but she needed to try. . . just to try and slow the fall further as gravity started to take hold once more.

[Vaitris]

Another idea took root before Zavijah’s words processed, a maneuver he'd been adept at as a youngster. Fast as thought, his shikigami was right where he needed it as he needed it. There was barely enough of it to hold onto, even stretched to its very limit, but he didn’t need more than a moment. Kazan seized the puppet with both hands, using its upward force as a pivot to just slightly change the trajectory of his fall, before letting go and crashing into the thick foliage of the trees below.

There were no good options for landing but he tried his best. His weight and the momentum behind it wouldn’t be stopped by any but the strongest of trees. Smaller branches shattered beneath his weight, scoring his chest and the barrel of his body as he tumbled through them. A pair of larger limbs finally caught him in their fork, wedging themselves up behind his forelegs in the most awkward way possible. He hung breathlessly for a moment, reorienting to the height and the situation and the sudden stop, hooves kicking loose and free in the open air. Kazan couldn’t think of a worse place for a centaur to be, other than maybe in the claws of that awful bird.

There was a warning groan from the wood and the branches clamping him in place cracked and gave. He slid out of the tree butt first, tumbling through more leafy hell on the way down. When his rump hit the ground pain ricocheted from his tail up through his legs and his back and he distinctly felt something snap. Then he slumped to his side and lay there for a moment, stunned.

Above him, the sky could clearly be seen through the hole he’d made in the canopy, but the bird was nowhere to be found.

[okami1reeka333]

zavijah:


She was more focused on aiming the centaur and insuring his safety, there was no consideration for her own. Him grappling onto something during her trying to slow their momentum threw her off balance. She did not see what he grabbed onto, but she pulled her weapon out and away from the mule to avoid it cutting into him. She had to call the bo staff away from him as well, seeing that may get him wedged and stuck into the branches seeing he occupied his hands with something else. . . Though in her actions doing so, it widened her gait too much.


Instead of a younger tree that would of acted as a cushion and soften the landing relatively. He aimed for an older and sturdier tree. . . The first major hit from the branches was a glancing across the arm and leg from striking a larger branch whist the both of them were hitting thinner branches typical of being at the top of the tree.


The next one she blocked with her blade, although it would of ripped her head clean off given the angle she was at. . Feeling the blade slide through the wood where it would of struck her neck was only further an indicator of this. When Kazan finally seemed to stop ricocheting from branch to branch and was wedged between two branches, zavijah could only try and deflect one of the branches that impaled her. . . one into the arm, one into the leg, and one more or less glanced off of her blade and into her side, more or less glancing her and piercing her clothing. . . slicing into her skin. . .


She couldn't help but appraise the strength of the wood for being able to rip through phoenix clay cotton. Perhaps the grain was appeasing to her preference? She strongly hoped this was the case. . . Seeing it did not immediately caught on fire despite the temperature difference, she mused apon finding the tree again and taking seeds from it, perhaps chopping this one down and turning it into wooden instruments, weapons; sadly the train of thought was severed at the sound of wood groaning where Kazan landed. . . Getting stabbed was not as bad as getting the impaled branches ripped out violently in an uncontrolled angle, so she twisted her blade to catch the branches and slit through them, causing her to fall, swing down and strike her head against a much larger branch, perhaps one of the ones holding Kazan captive at the current moment.


She did not remember hitting the ground, but the tok of the bo staff hitting one branch to the next on the way down annoyed her enough for her to stir, before the dense wood slamming across her chest jolted her back to an alert consciousness. She gave herself a moment to gain an idea what was going on. . . Kazan's breathing and heart beat still exists. . . . .she doesn't hear any other that would indicate another similar to them at the moment. . .Due to their 'graceful' landing, The majority of the animals that were within the area hath startled the away. The only sounds remaining was the patter of rain, and the volcanic hiss of the temperature difference between her blood and the cold, drench earth around them . . . .She groaned and forced herself upright, one hand cradling her head.


He had to aim for the older tree, didn't he? . . . .


This only made her more inclined to avoid the mule the moment she can. . . . .He seems only keen to follow 'plans' he, himself thinks and leads in. . . Anything said or done by her was ignored, and damn near has gotten her killed. . . the last thing she wanted was someone like him learning of the curse. . . . Thinking back to whatever he did, he could of used it as an opportunity to further slow down their fall, further controlling their decent- rather than just reacting. . . .


She mentally frowned darkly, mostly at herself. . . How foolish to believe he could, even for a moment, cooperate. . . . Regardless if it was fear or merely to spite her for dare ordering the likes of him. . . . Yielding any level of trust to the likes of him will only result in betrayal or death. . .


She sighed, pulling out her medical kit, scroll, knife, and the hide of a rather larger white boar. The stone eyes set within the socket were unsettling to say the least. . . "áwæcnian (awaken)" she stated, tapping the Greatsword against the skull of the boar cloak to activate and release the focused aura from it and into the cloak. . .activating the talismans within the cloak. . . she then desummoned her Greatsword. . . no need to have both it and Gúþhelm out. . the bo staff will act as her walking staff. The eyes within the cloak like a delayed reaction started to shift and move individually from each other. This delayed reaction occurred as she was putting the scroll away.

She moved to place the rather larger cloak on herself and bind it to herself. . . The eyes apon the cloak seemed to both jerk and aline before the gaunt expression apon the hide started to mimic a rather cold and calm demeanor of the wearer. The carved eyes then glanced over towards the downed mule, as if to assess him. . .Amazingly it did not seem like he broke any bones landing on the decades reinforced limbs of the tree . . .When it did not seem like she will find any wounds on him without walking over to examine any closer, she focused back at the matter at hand, the gaze casually shifting back forward.


Like hell she was going to partially undo her garb infront of the likes of the mule. . . Though she needed to take the shrapnel out of herself.

[Vaitris]

Kazan rolled to his belly then pushed himself to his feet. His legs were lacerated, but fine. His back sore, but not broken. His tail, however, was kinked where he’d fallen on it. It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, but setting it straight and waiting for it to heal was not something the centaur had patience for.

He observed Zavijah out of the corner of his eye, appraising her tight expression and the brusqueness of her motions. She was mobile, which was ideal considering what they had just been through. But they had given away their position now, and all for naught. If that redheaded halfling was still intent on capturing them, then his men would have spread to all the closest entrances to the Underground. And the sun was setting, which invited a host of other problems. The more Kazan considered the situation, and Zavijah, the deeper his frown became. There were few reasonably safe options left.

“We need to continue, before some other aberration finds us.” Or she found another tree to fall out of, or another animal that wanted to whisk her away. Though the sulfur stench of the child’s oddly hissing blood might be enough to drive the worst away, he wasn’t willing to gamble on it. He twitched his tail to usher her along and winced. “Is there anything else we should look out for? Are you ideal prey for cougars as well? Will some boar now mistake you for their own?”

[okami1reeka333]

zavijah:


She pulled out her med kit, using the cloak to shield it from the rain pouring down. . . pulling out some vials and a wrap before placing the thing away. . . She gave herself a moment to brace herself and calm herself. . . taking a deep breath. . .

gripping the wood impaling her arm and pulling it out. . . the dragging of the bark was never a fun experience, nor was it the first. . .but bleeding out like this whist she was bound to one as impatient and reckless as the mule will not do herself nor the half pony any benefit. But in a rather unsettling and practiced motion, the branch was pulled from her. . . she reset this arm once more before using one of the vials to stem the bleeding. . . the material looked almost earthy. . . there was some green and red under tones, but largely was a mixture; moving with a rather thick and grainy viscosity. . . .She then wrapped it with the wrap. . .tearing what she needed on her arm from the rest of the roll before moving onto her leg. . .the water trapped within the wrap still hissed defiantly. albeit muffled.


Pull the stick out. . . stem the bleeding. . . then wrap it. she will have to re-treat the afflicted areas along with the other wounds. . .but they will need to find shelter and regather themselves. . . prepare traps of their own. . deal with the head of the snake.


"Instead of wandering around like injured mindless beasts back towards our pursuers, we need to seek shelter. . . And prepare for them, rather than aimlessly wandering towards snares whist injured. . . The head of the snake must be dealt with." she replied rather frankly. The daunting death like eyes of her cloak shifted towards Kazan's direction in a rather uncanny manner. "Are you even capable of heeding another's words, or art thou cursed to learn from experience?" she growled. "We hath tried your method, it hath lead to this. . . .your arrogance and stubbornness will only lead the both of us to death or worse. . . .more than likely worse. " she shrugged. " Tis time you heed me as well rather than having a temper tantrum and damn near killing the both of us in the process of your panic and pride disallowing any chance of getting out of this. " She was doubting he was a soldier, but now was strongly in the belief he merely claims he was a soldier just so he doesn't have to listen to what anyone else has to say. . . . . Though she also strongly doubt just 'taking the lead' will lead to anything either, considering he was heavier than her and unwilling to heed her. . . . .they either both work, or she will act on her own. . .


Though. . . she took a moment to reconsider how he was reacting. . .the blood dripping from the cuts on him . . .the bruising. . . he was in no shape to travel. . . not as far as they need to go yet. . .and the rain is only going to weaken him; make him ill. . . . He will die if not further slow the both of them down. . .


"you are injured, you will only slow us down. . .we need to find shelter and tend to thy wounds less you wish to bend over and present yourself to whom we run from. . . .less tis only I whom truly wishes to remain free. . ." Although. . . she could just cut her hand off- rid herself of the stubborn baggage. . . . . and either allow the curse to reform it, or use alchemy to replace it. . . neither was a pleasant outcome. She, herself was no better; if she were to be honest. . . .True. . .the cloak she awakened can 'walk' for her for short distances; granted she only intends on allowing this during treacherous areas.


But she could just leave this bastard to die. . . .be done with the arrogant mule. She does not know if such is true or not, but what would be the chances that their enemy is keeping track of where they are through the same thing binding them together? She can try as much as she can but if hes unwilling to relinquish his hellbent need to lead and ignore anything or anyone else. . . she just needs to cut her losses. . . one could only help so much before such attempts prove to be in vain. . . .Her hand is worth losing if it meant she was not going to become a sex slave and be raped and worse due to the arrogance of a stubborn ass. She can replace her hand or allow the curse to do so. . . .She can't erase the scars nor night terrors of what has been or what will be done onto her.

[Vaitris]

There was no understanding this halfling. Wandering aimlessly they were not. He had explained up front where he intended to go and by what way. And his method had failed? As though he could have foreseen a giant bird of prey interrupting it.

Unable to swish his tail, he stamped a hoof, trying to release some of the tension that was making his injuries throb harder. Yet when he spoke again his tone was as even as ever. “I remind you we had a chance to deal with the head of the snake back at the beginning of this. They had all chosen their deaths when they attacked us first, but you dragged me up a cliffside instead.”

He sighed, crossing his arms and steeling himself against the echo of pain as she yanked shards of wood from her body. Arguing would get them nowhere, and his training was coming up short. Sumaren never had to suffer such a stubborn halfling. “Very well, we will attempt things your way and allow the hunters to find us, disastrous as that may be.”

He would not admit it aloud, but a chance to rest would be welcome even if pressing forward would get them to the city in short order. He needed to meditate, to refortify himself and rebuild his tattered patience. And he could only hope these new horns would help him scrape together enough energy to restore his shikigami in that time. It was essential now with more fighting in his future. “There is a bluff nearby that has several small caves. They would suffice for your shelter.”

[okami1reeka333]

zavijah:


She was not going to stand there and argue. . . she explained why she 'dragged' him up the cliff. . .at the time, it did not seem wise to her to not only leave him surrounded by them whist he was wounded and his legs scrambled. . . they were at an ambush sight. . .something she did not bother to note, though now it seemed clear to her he did not think of this. . .it did not occur that they may of very well staged that area to trap them- using the cliff as a natural dead end seeing the last thing they might of expected was a half pony scaling the cliffside. . . As a soldier assuming he was of higher rank, even he should of seen the wisdom in not battling within an area an opponent had potentially prepared. Though she kept her thoughts to herself. . he hath already revealed his stance apon this.


Just when she started to move to remove her hand, reaching for a blade within her butt purse. Kazan yielded? she frowned in thought. . did he merely expect her to cower within an carven just to sleep? . . . Instead of grabbing her blade, she grabbed a scroll. . .not pulling it out. . from Kazan's view, it would merely look like as though she was shifting things around within her butt purse. . .summoning talismans to obscure the way light bends around it. . what she uses to keep unwanted visitors from bothering her. . . She will use the temporary ones. . . as to not leave a trail where she does not intend to stay for long periods of time.


Though he was not wrong. . . they are looking for shelter. . .just not for her. . .She intends apon laying a few boar traps for these hunters. . . Rather grim and not something she believes she can show Hau yet. . . he might be too faint at the moment to learn of such a trap befitting a large pack of them, rather than individuals.


The stick within her hand she had pulled from herself. . .she forced her aura into. . They will need a warning mark when the hunters near. . .and this was where the two of them landed. . . more than likely, their pursuers will come to investigate this area. . . At this her eyes flicked towards the cuff itself, seeing she was doing this with her right hand. . . ."interesting. . . ." she murmured. She studied the cuff for abit more. Before stabbing the stick into the ground. . . "Don't touch this. . . this will warn us of their approach. " she stated towards Kazan, before walking towards the direction of the caverns. . . The cuff seemed to siphon a portion of her aura when she was infusing the broken stick with it. . . though it does not seem to do so when she does not use it. . . . either its to prevent them from harming their pursuers, or to keep it empowered. . . .this can prove as a means to free themselves as well. . . .


A concerning note; was it more effective against magic? or does one have to focus any form of energy towards it. . .was it only effected by aura? There was a chance it pulled more from the mule than it did from her. . . or it was a passive trait. . Another question was would Kazan actually answer or act like an juvenile and have a temper tantrum with her? . . .does she want to deal with this? There was the very real threat that if he is already drained- this will not do them good, potentially harming the half pony. . .or killing him. This may be a thing to bring up when they reach the caverns. . . . she will just need to lay some traps and some talismans down before they get there.


"What is the layout of the surrounding lands of these caverns? . . ." she asked the half pony. "mountainous? continuation of the forest? thicker or thinner foliage? "

[Vaitris]

Kazan didn’t answer right away. His gaze held on Zavijah for an uncomfortably long moment, before he finally looked away and began walking in the direction of the bluff. “A sizable lake lies in front, beyond a strip of forest. Behind are foothills of thinner foliage and slopes of loose scree. There are many points that would give us an advantage over pursuers. And the cave mouths would be ideal locations to feign occupation and place traps. It should be easily defensible, assuming we do not let them fan out and come from multiple directions simultaneously.”

His hooves squished noisily in the mud. The rain was still holding steady, unpleasant and chilling, but it was doing a decent job of washing away the caked dirt and blood from Kazan’s wounds. And his dip in the river had cleansed some of the stench from him, or perhaps he'd just become accustomed to it, but the outline of the bomb still stained the lighter patches of his coat. His thoughts lingered momentarily on soap and a brush.

He gave the child another lengthy sidelong look, as though trying to peer beneath the boar cloak. “I am surprised you are not already familiar with the area.”

[okami1reeka333]

zavijah:


If the long awkward gaze the swordsmen, it was not apparent in stance nor expression outside of merely wanting to bring this ordeal to an end. The landscape did sound familiar, though she said nothing. . . It takes a few trips to an location for her to become familiar with an area- at least for her to claim familiarity. . . that and even she will hesitate to claim she has explored every nook and cranny of the surrounding wilderness around the valley of stone. . . . She was an wanderer. . . would be extremely arrogant to make such claims. . .


That and proclaiming any level of familiarity to an location to one whom shown her he was not to be trusted? Such would be too telling. . . .She already made this mistake before and nearly was decapitated for her decision. "Only the arrogant or those whom hath lived within the area for such extended amounts of time would claim familiarity." she replied, observing the location ahead. . . . .When she finally did glance towards the centaur, both her own eyes and the stone eyes of the boar cloak followed and looked simultaneously. But she was not looking at "him". . per say. . .rather the injuries. . . .perhaps the tree hath injured him . . .or perhaps twas from their crusade into the river. . . if not his entanglement with their pursuers when they were first shackled.


She dug into her butt purse for abit before with an the unshackled hand, pulled out a vial of what looked like black molasses. . . opening it was equally as putrid as the initial stench bomb. . . but should he lather it into himself. . .fur, hair, clothing- the smell of both will fade into almost nothing, if not a hint of lemongrass. . . "At this point, the stench bomb's smell will act as a marker rather than a masking for you assuming they pull any new heads into the frey. . .The contents of the bomb will risk tainting of your wounds. Lather this into yourself and it will nullify it. Though I do not recommend eating it. " she spoke, offering the vial of nullifier to Kazan.


Perhaps she could resummon her Greatsword and create pit traps for their pursuers. . . hyper condense the ground underneath to create sink pockets. . . sure. . this would 'petrify' the wood and either slightly scorch the earth underneath so when their pursuers fall in (assuming the top layer was thick enough so no smoke could be seen) . . . they would be scalded by the superheated surfaces. . . the creation of a fire pit for food near them could mask the smell of the burning earth and wood from the pits. . . Though as wet as conditions are with such a heavy rain. . . .this would not work . . .


The conditions would need to be dry for this to be effective. That and the cool water hitting the layer of overhanging earth would give warning. . . which means she will have to settle with bear pit traps. . . much smaller, easier to hide. . . shallow. . yet as soon as one of their pursuers steps into one. . .their foot will fall into such and pikes from inside would act as hooks or barbs. . .meaning they would have to dig out their foot in order to free themselves. . . and the water and muddy conditions? will not effect this traps ability to ensnare- if anything, conceal such more effectively. . .