Open Chronicles Memories Yearning To Be Forgotten

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira was thinking the same thing. She offered him a nod and a small smile that she hoped didn't look as forced as she felt it did.

"I'll start the fire," Zafira said, already making an area to start it. She wrapped the circle in rocks and threw some twigs and branches in it. Eyes flashing quickly, fire sparked from her hand and she gently let it roll onto the rock hole she created.

Content, she pulled back to assist Touma with whatever it is that he needed. "So," Zafira started, pulling out a few dried up foods and biscuits for the pair. She handed him the second serving of it. They'd have to stop at a village or the like to get more. "Have you ever been to Fal Addas?"

Zafira took out her aged map and stood by the fire, checking to see how far they'd gotten. She memorized the direction for the next day, touching the memory rune on the side of her wrist unknowingly. It was an action she was so accustomed to doing that she didn't even realize she did it anymore.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

There wasn't much the ronin needed to accomplish to set up camp, scouring the nearby landscape in an effort to ensure that they were in a secure location. It was not perfect, but they'd be able to survive the night...he was a light sleeper, and quicker draw of his blade.

Returning to their camp sit, the ronin observed a fire finally blazing. Heading over, the ronin would quietly take a seat around the fire in a criss-cross manner. Eyes on the flame, he starred into for a few brief moments...before he heard the question of his female companion.

"I don't think so..." It was hard to say where he had been on this particular continent. Unlike some of his friends, he didn't keep track of such things. He moved where the road took him, and then some...

"...have you...been?..." The bladesmen had assumed as much, if she knew where her target was. Probably better to have a guide...save him the trouble of finding the poor bastard anyhow...

 

[ZafiraJade]

"I have," Zafira said with a wistful smile. She hugged her knees lightly as the fire crackled enticingly against the dark. "It truly is a beautiful land. Too bad the circumstances are dire,"

There was something so bewitching about an open flame in the darkness. Zafira didn't understand why it was so captivating. The way the flames licked at each other before dancing softly with the wind - the smell of ash filling the air, but keeping its inmates warm with its heat.

It wasn't magic, but it just as might as well have been.

"Ever marveled about how the fire is so...bewitching?" Zafira hadn't realized she'd asked the question until she said it out loud. "It's purifying in away. Burn all the bad, start anew,"

Zafira looked away, suddenly feeling a hard knot lodge itself in her throat.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"Hm..." The ronin nodded at the description, crossing his arms in the process. It had lined up with what he had heard from the lands, a world where beings and nature co-existed in some form harmony...though the latter part was also said to be true...the ugliest days of Fal Addas were days where the green was marred in red...

It was often the work of people like Touma that were at least a vessel of the problem, Fal Addas and really anywhere...having a conscious was not good for business...part of the reason why the ronin still ran around in robes...

Then she went on about the fire...somthing that may could be said to be somewhat philosophical...

"From some point of view...perhaps..." The ronin stated, giving a lengthy pause in his sentence, allowing the crackles of the flame to fill in the empty silence. He was starring into the fire, but his eyes reverted back to a rather empty state. "...but the flame takes the bad...and the good...it does not choose...nor can it burn away our feelings...the sadness, the anger...it is somthing that cannot be burned...it makes starting anew all the more difficult...and painful..."

Perhaps it was a metaphor for somthing else...perhaps he wasn't thinking before running his mouth...perhaps he was just mentally exhausted...but at the moment, at least, it felt somewhat true...from his point of view...

 

[ZafiraJade]

Touma's voice was clear against the quiet night, and Zafira couldn't pry her eyes way from the fire as he spoke. For a while, she didn't answer. He wasn't wrong. The fire didn't discriminate. It didn't care about good or bad, but still, she couldn't help but find some solace in its continuity.

It was such a strange thought to have for something so destructive.

But Zafira could understand what Touma meant when he talked about how starting over was hard. It wasn't a clean break as it would be if a hot sword were to cut through metal. It was mangled only by the emotions one could not control.

"People would start over too much if it were easy," Zafira replied calmly before letting herself lay down. She had learned more about Touma in this moment than she had in the past hours they'd been walking together. He had his own skeletons, his own stories. Zafira wondered what they were.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

"Some people don't have much of a choice..." Touma said quietly, eyes not straying too far from the fire...before he decided to shut them close.

There was too much to be said about his life, or rather, his life before...even his life not too long ago...lut the patterns were all to the same. Touma shouldn't had been surprised that the things turned out the way they did, it always same...no matter how much things changed....

Regardless, the ronin wouldn't say much for the remaining of the night. If she looked over, Zafira would see that Touma had his head tilted downwards, appearing as if he was resting. If Zafira had nothing more to do, the night would go on quietly...as the blazing fire began to die down...and the nocturnal world came to life around them...

 

[ZafiraJade]

To that, Zafira did not respond, reflecting back on her own life. She did have a choice, but what life would she have been living had she continued the way she had?

She thought back to the quiet, frightened girl she used to be. A pang of something she did not dare identify filled her.

That's why she hated the night. It made her think, and Zafira was better off not thinking. Maybe that's why she always felt the need to fill a silence. To hide away from her constantly moving mind. She turned to look at Touma to see his eyes closed. She watched him for a moment, eyes swooping on his pale skin. He was all hard angles, but with his eyes closed, he looked peaceful - the exact opposite of the fierce warrior she saw him to be.

She doubted he was asleep though. Men like him were too cautious too. It was with that last thought that Zafira's own eyes drooped slowly, the sound of the fire crackling the last one she heard.

Zafira woke before Touma. She stretched slightly before looking around. She didn't have enough food to supplement both of them, but they were in the woods, and Zafia's father had grilled plants into her mind. With that though, Zafira walked a bit deeper into the woods, looking for something edible.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Touma had felt her wake up before she even did, a sensitivity to his surroundings despite being in a resting state. In his early years, sleeping out of a fortified position could carry with it the potential of enemy night time raids. The first time that happened, the young boy couldn't sleep for three days stright. Now, it had become a habit.

It was why he'd never really be able to comfortably sleep out under the stars...too much danger, or the potential danger...

Speaking of...

Touma opened an eye as Zafira left their little camp, watching as she sauntered away into the woods...leaving her stuff with him. No doubt out looking for somthing, the bladesmen thought, as he closed his eye and returned to a state of resting.

At the same time, he was focusing on his breathing, feeling the air dance around him...until some sort of...smell, wafted itself into his nose....

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira stayed in the woods a bit longer than she had to. She couldn't help it. She loved being alone, adored the way every sound magnified, the quietness of her surroundings making everything that much more sharp.

If it hadn't been for Marissa, Zafira would be a complete recluse, never talking to anyone. It would be a lonely life, of course, but taking time away just to be alone was addicting. Addicting the way a drug would be.

Zafira collected two pockets full of berries of different times, gathering any nuts that were edible and the like. She also picked some herbs that were known for their restorative properties. She'd be able to make an elixir out of it later on.

She stopped at a gorgeous, blue river. The water shone magnificently against the sun, river flickering with every lick of a wave. Zafira breathed in the coolness before filling up her water satchel. She splashed some water on her face, the cold of it shocking and waking her up.

Coming back to the 'camp', Zafira noticed that Touma was awake. He was meditating again. Zafira kept quiet, not wanting to disrupt his silence. A part of her didn't want to disrupt her silence either.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

It was very sudden, perhaps too sudden, might have even startled most people too.

One moment Touma was sitting quietly on the ground, in position of ease. The next moment, he was up, blade drawn and at the ready, back turned to Zaifra as his eyes danced about the forest in front of him.

The bladesmen had been content on sitting where he was until his charge was ready to go. After all, the urgency of this mission dependent on the pressure that she'd put on him. Even so, that didn't mean external forces weren't going to have a say in their journey; this might have been one of them...

Something had definitely spooked him into action, but it was hard to tell what. There was nothing apparent in the direction he faced, all there was were trees that had been their the night previously.

"Don't...move..." Was all Touma was able to hiss out, bring his blade up. If Zaifra would look closely, she might have noticed, through the early morning rays, that the shadow of one of the trees were...lumpier, then the rest...

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira stepped back at the sudden motion. Her hand automatically went to the belt at her hips, hands tightening around a blade.

Touma wasn’t facing her though.

His attention lay on a tree instead. Zafira’s eyes zeroed in on the spot the swordsman was looking at. There was a figure there, still now moving.

"Show yourself," Zafira called out unkindly, hands tightening on her blade. The tips of her fingertips buzzed, ready to block any attack that was to come.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

A hand flew up, it was almost as if a blur, as a hand clasped itself over her lips. He was suddenly right next her, it had been so quick, so quiet, gripping hard in an attempt to muffle her voice.

Had she looked up at him, Zafira would see Touma's gaze continued to extend towards the shadow. She might have not seen it now, but it's stench was starting to become every apparent...

RaarArArrrrArRrRR

An unsettling noise came form the direction, a noise that was somthing between an beastly growl and a agony filled wail.

A moment later...it appeared out of the shadows...a hulking beast that resembled a boar, but it was twice the size of the largest boar. But it's size was among the secound things one would notice, it's grotsque tusks, twisting and curving all over it's face, you could not tell where the face stated and where it ended...and the blood...it was fresh...blood, and blooded worms, curling in and out of it's skin...as flakes of it peeled off with ever step it took..

It was hard to tell what this beast was, but it didn't seem at all natural...some sort of dark aura radiated off of the beast...but it didn't seemed to notice the two...not yet, stalking forward at an angle...

Touma himself said nothing, as he pulled Zafira down to a crouching level...trying to keep a low profile...but the grip on his blade all the ready...

 

[ZafiraJade]

Just as Zafira felt the resonating sound of her voice make its way out, Touma was against her, pale hand tight against her mouth. Automatically, Zafira's back tensed. She was hyper aware of how close he was, goosebumps rising at the back of her arm. Ignoring the almost inhumane speed Touma had traveled at, she focused her attention back on the spot. Slowly, the creature made its way out.

It had the build of a bull with a silky, black coat, hooves that were scruffed and looked shabby. That wasn't the main focus though. Zafira took in the sixteen different tentacles sticking from what she assumed was its mouth. It had no eyes.

Zafira's eyes widened and she stepped, back, colliding into Touma's chest. Her fingers curled onto her blade and she pulled it out of the belt hanging at her hips. Her eyes snapped back to his red ones which were still focused on the creature. Suddenly, he pulled them to the floor and Zafira let out a soft 'ooph' noise, Touma's hand still tight on her mouth. He had mirrored her action, hand on the magical sword he possessed.

Despite the situation, Zafira let out an irritated noise. Touma seemed to ignore it, not moving his hand off her mouth. Without a second though, Zafira prodded her tongue out and licked his hand, a mischeivous grin on her lips.

She saw him pull it away, red eyes snapping at her angrily. She offered him a charming smile before pulling at a vial from her cloak. Leaning close to Touma's ears, she whispered, "This will put him to sleep,"

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Her tongue on his hand might have been the farthest thing he could have been thinking of, as the beast in front of him had his full attention. The bladesmen hadn't the faintest idea what or where that thing came from, but it certainly did not seem or smell friendly. A regular boar that size would have been dangerous enough, but this? To top things off,this one thought things were rather out-of-place amusing, which might have been infuriating enough.

It was not the night before she seemed rather solemn about the task they had ahead of them, yet now she was giggling at somthng that could very well gouge the lives out of their body.

Frustrating indeed, but now was not the time to express it. Instead, he would ask about the vile...but before he even had to say anything, the beast suddenly jerked it's head towards the two, before launching into a full speed charge while wailing it's unsettling tune.

RRRaaaarraRAArarR

Instinct took over, as swordsmen's movements began to blur, moving with equal amounts of speed as before. Touma lunged forward and tackled Zafira to the ground, just out of the way of the charging beast as it stampede past letting out another bone chilling screech.

Indeed he was ontop of her, at an Ward angle to boot; but it was not somthing Touma had time to think about. The swordsmen didn't wait for a response, quickly pushing himself onto his feet without another word. Quickly turning about, his sword gripped in front of him, Touma faced the beast as it wheeled about.

rAaAArrrRRaRRaaRAA

The beast snorted, appearing as if it was releasing steam from it's nostril. It lowered it's head and the entanglement of bony tusks, stamping it's hoofs in anticipation to it's opposition...before launching into a another full speed charge.

Yet it's attention was on Touma's gleaming blade, somthing about it was attracting the beast towards him, as quickly began side stepping away from Zafira...as the beast brought it's trajectory into contact with Touma, the man rolled to the side, but not before swinging his blade into the side of the beast and cutting it.

RRRRAAararARaAraAr

Blood began trailing behind the monster, as it's wailing became increasingly louder. Whatever Zafira had planned, she oughta do somthing quick...as the beast recoiled...

 

[ZafiraJade]

Touma didn't move his hand.

"There really is no humor with you," Zafira grumbled lightly.

Zafira pouted lightly when all of a sudden, the beast attacked. Finally, the swordsman moved his hand only to tackle her to the floor.

"Oomph," Zafira let out, breath leaving her chest fast. Her hands tightened around the vial, searching with the indents of her finger for any cracks or the like. Had the vial broken, the plan would have utterly failed. Zafira had only one of its left, and creating another one would take literal days.

She was about to tell Touma to save his energy, but when her eyes landed on the swordsman, he was already attacking the gnarling beast. A shudder coursed through Zafira's spine as she took in the scene in front of her. Blood had spattered on the swordsman's front, his cheek and jaw peppered with small droplets of the dark liquid. It only sharpened his already marble-like features.

The wound should have deterred the beast. Instead, it only seemed to anger him.

"Impatient too," Zafira muttered to herself, eyes not leaving the snarling creature. With a dexterity that seemed surprising for someone like Zafira to have, her eyes morphed into a brandy hue, hands flashing green with her magic. A faint cast coated the beast, momentarily freezing him in place. Zafira looked for its energy source.

She wouldn't be able to harness it. The beast was too large and too inhumane. "Touma, get the vial from my cloak and pour it into its mouth," Her tone was calm, commanding in a way that would have been surprising.

Perspiration leaked from Zafira's forehead as her hands started to shake. She could feel the creature breaking from her hold, hostility and uncontainable rage about to split. "Now,"

Pain laced Zafira's arms, but she kept her eyes on the beast, glaring it down. She could see his focus on her now. Before. she had thought to have no eyes. Somehow, having sensed that she was the one to be restricting him, even if just temporarily, terrified Zafira in a way she would never admit. Now if Touma would just hurry up.....

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Whatever she was doing, it was working. Seemed like a similar technique to what she had tried on him earlier. Only difference here was that the boar didn't seem to have enough capabilities to resist it, which worked greatly in their favor.

Wasting no time after the witch called out, Touma's eyes focused back onto their camp, quickly searching for this cloak she had been calling out for. Didn't take long for him to spot it, as he sped over to the fabric. It took the man a moment of frantic grasping to find the vial, when he finally retrieved the glass container, he whirled around to see Zafira's grasp on the beast waning.

Was Touma afraid? Not likely... Bestial monster may have appeared to be grotesque, but they acted more or less then their more stable counterparts. Made them easier to predict in a fight, which made them easier to kill. Those whom one might fear are often the most challenging; those with the consciousness to think.

From Zafira's point of view, she might have been focused solely on the wild boar beast...her strength sapping with each moment passing...but out of the corner of her eye, she might have been able to notice a familiar blur, leaping off the ground.

It was Touma, landing on the beast's back, blade in hand as he ran across it's back. When he got to it's head, the ronin reversed his grip on the blade, before plunging it downward. The raw hide of the beast was hard to do any real penetrating damage, but Touma had used enough force to be able to pry the beast's head to the side, opening it's mouth. Without another secound, the red haired ronin threw the vial into the beast's mouth, before violently yanking his weapon out of the beast's head. Now to see if the concoction would work...

 

[ZafiraJade]

The pain traveled up Zafira's arm, burrowing in her chest. She let out a gasp as she watched Touma leap onto the beast's back. Zafira's hold loosening, the beast let out a roar, so loud that it shook Zafira's bones. Or maybe that was because of the magic.

She was a physician's daughter. A healer, not a warrior. She had never trained her body to use magic in this matter - to stop, instead of heal. It was because of this that Zafira could already feel herself grow lightheaded. What would Touma think? Stars, he probably already thought her insane, but there would be hell before she was weak in his eyes.

Which lead her to the next question: why did she care so much?

Touma stabbed at the beast, lifting the monster's head up and dropping the vial into its mouth. Relief racked through Zafira, as fresh as a douse of cold water. "Oh, thank the Stars," Zafira breathed out, releasing her hold completely.

"Get off of him!" Zafira shouted, the last of her strength before she collapsed to her knees. She would have looked up to see if Touma were alright, but her energy had completed depleted. Zafira's nails dug into the dirt, the fresh grass flattening beneath her palms. On another day, she would have been sorrowful for it - always respecting the ground with a different kind of obsession.

The beast let out another roar, but this one sounded pained. The vial was meant to shut off the creature's systems one at a time, starting with its motor function. It was an elixir given to the sick - a mercy for whatever disease they have that could not be healed. Only a drop usually did the trick, but given the size of the creature along with its species, Zafira only hoped it would be enough.

At the sound of the ground shaking as the creature fell, Zafira knew she was right.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

When Zafira had shouted at him to leap off, Touma was in the process of heaving his blade out of the beast's head. It took a bit of effort, but the situation had become too volatile to continue riding the thing; too much potential of getting thrown, which might have been all the beast needed to finish him...provided the vile of what's it didn't work.

As the boar bucked, Touma used the momentum to launch himself into the air. During the flight the ronin braced himself, as he landed on the ground into a roll, before skidding to a halt facing the beast. Touma's eyes never left the monster, as he watched it leap about, dazed at what it's own body was doing. Smashing it's head against a tree, trying to wake itself up from the stooper. But the potion was beginning to work it's effect when it's front legs gave way, causing the beast to plummet snout first into the ground, it's hind legs desperately trying to move the body.

Satisfied that at the boar's incapacitating state, Touma stood out of his current low standing stance, swing his blade to the side of his scabbeth before sheathing it. Only then, did he concern himself with his current travel companion. Rushing to her side, he lowered his head towards her back, listening for her steady breathing. When he was able to confirm that she was still breathing, he placed a hand onto her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Touma whispered, trying to roll her over a bit to get a better look at her. It was clear she was worn out, even from a few moments of engaging the beast. The bladesmen could only hope she wasn't in any critical condition, or this little assassination attempt was going to be cut short.

Yet before he had a chance to do much else, a loud wailing noise broke Touma's eyes away from the girl. The beast was on the ground, but...somthing was happening...the veil might have incapacitated, but it seemed to have a side effect on the monster...as black smoke began arising from the creature....

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira looked up, watching Touma yank his sword from the creature's back. It was a tight fit, and Touma was struggling. That much was evident in the way his body strained. She wanted to yell at him to leave the sword, but she remembered its alchemical qualities. The sword probably had meaning to him. Zafira knew that if she had a sword like that. she'd stay for it too.

The creature fell in front of Zafira's eyes, and a triumphant smile crossed Zafira's features.

She felt Toouma's hands on her back, him appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Zafira coughed, grabbing the large stick from the floor, and pulling herself up. "I'm fine,"

She wasn't. But she would be. She just needed to gain her strength a bit. Zafira felt her lips twitch into a pout. Stars, she really wished she had her horse.

Before Zafira could think too much about it, a scent of sulfur filled the air. Zafira turned to the source, noting the beast start to steam and coil. "What th-"

The creature let out a cry and she saw one of its tusks bust. Zafira covered her mouth, holding back a petrified yell. What was happening to the creature?

The beast continued to wail and moan, the sounds even more grotesque than the one of anger he'd let out. Zafira's eyes widened as she realized that the beast was being tortured.

Zafira made a move to go to it, pulling off her cloak and emptying all the compartments inside. Her shaking hands reached for a few vials as she tried to scramble her mind for a potion to make this better.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Her outburst was what caught the ronin's attention, and within the next moment Touma saw why. Whatever was in that vile was doing it's job, but it was reacting terribly to that...thing's anatomy. No doubt it was in pain, and it's wailing was haunting...

What were they to do?

Had this been any other time, the bladesmen might have been right down there with her, helping her find what she needed to accomplish what she needed. But it was his current state of mind, it could only think of one option...as Touma stood, and drew his blade again...the metal sliding echoing through the forest...

Touma was a blade, his purpose might have very well ran opposite of what his companion had intended...but then again, that was why she had wanted to bring him on in the first place...he was capable of death, and nothing more.

Least that's what he thought, thought at that moment...what normally might have been an aloof and even preppy ronin had it's mind taken over by it's darker imaginations. There was only one way to make the suffering end...the thing was already tainted from the looks of it, better to end it quick, so it wouldn't feel it...

Touma took a step forward, stepping in front of Zafira, blade drawn to the side...you couldn't see his face under his hair, but it might have not been visible to the young women to begin with...one thing was on his mind...his blade seemed to speak his thoughts...

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira thumbed a purple elixir, heart racing quickly. She could feel the pressure now. Her head was throbbing from holding the creature for long, hands shaky from adrenaline and exhaustion. More than anything it was the desperate cries of the creature who Zafira could no longer see as a beast.

What the hell had she just done?

Zafira's hand wrapped around a blue vial and she dropped a controlled amount of the liquid into the purple. None of this was measured. None of this was done with the precision and skill of Zafira's usual work, but she was desperate.

So desperate that she hadn't noticed the blade in Touma's hand until she heard a leaf crunch beneath his feet. Zafira looked up, eyes wide.

"No. No no no no," she repeated, scrambling to her feet. "Touma, don't," she snapped, shaking the contents deeply. A part of her knew it was futile. That no matter how much ingredients she added to the potion, it wouldn't be enough to save the creature as of now. If she had more time....

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

The only thing the swordsmen afford the young women was the direction to which he had turned his head...although his gaze did not meet hers. It was never an easy feat to accomplish, such action weighed heavily on the conscious...but perhaps that was why Touma was set to doing it...he couldn't really feel his conscious...

Though, there was a tiny part from within that...resonated, with her actions...that wanted to stop...wanted to be down there, helping her...wanted to hope that it wouldn't come to it...But alas...even without a conscious, the wiser part of Touma knew that there was only one way to end this...they should feel lucky enough that they had a chance of doing this humanly.

Turning his head forward, the ronin continued to step forward...taking another step...and another step...approaching the beast...the atmosphere was so eery, that every step the swordsmen took seem to make the atmosphere colder by the moment...until he was finally standing over the beast.

The ronin paused for a moment...his eyes meeting it's...perhaps a mistake...as Touma closed his eyes. For a few moments, he stood there, eyes closed...unmoving like a statue...as the breeze began to pick up, he could feel his ponytail shift in it's embrace.

It was an instance, one's eyes wouldn't have realized it, but Touma's blade was now on the opposite side of where he held...it wouldn't have been clear, until the sound had finally caught up...a loud smacking sound, as if somthing blunt had hit the beast.

A double take would have revealed that the beast had it's eyes closed, unconscious from the ronin's strike...the ronin was holding his saber backwards, as it seemed the back end of it was rather...dull...but this reprieve lasted only momentarily, as Touma flipped his blade background...and raised it into the air, gripping it with both hands...execution style....

 

[ZafiraJade]

Touma was ignoring her. She saw that he heard her, felt his quite determination in the way he tilted his shoulders away. A helplessness Zafira hadn't felt in a while zapped Zafira into action. The last time she felt this was when she saw her friends get brutally murdered in front of her. Zafira forced the bile down her throat, spinning into action.

Zafira's hands wrapped into her pocket, smashing some of the herbs she'd got earlier from the forest together. She rubbed the leaf of the plant, and despite her diminishing strength, let her eyes flash into a golden swirl.

"Ikt farem"

She rarely ever said her spells out loud. They were usually too powerful when she did. The screams of the creature resonated deep in her as Touma continued towards him.

The once blue elixir switched into a bright light tinged with green. Zafira tested a drop on her finger, the smooth liquid burning the pad of her fingertip.

Zafira hissed, watching the skin quickly turn purple and a dark, ugly blue. Despite the stinging pain, relief coursed through her. If it burned her skin, it would numb the creature.

"STOP!" Zafira yelled out, putting her hand on Touma's shoulders roughly. She could see the blade glinting in the light, ready for his execution. Zafira's eyes met Touma's, the most emotion she'd ever shown. Pure, blazing anger filled her gaze.

Zafira pushed her way between them, looking at the creature with a soft smile, hoping that it would comfort the creature. His eyes met hers, filled with pain, so unlike the murderous glint, they held before.

"You'll be okay. I'm so sorry," Zafira murmured to him quietly. She saw him flinch away from the vial. Zafira put her hand on a tusk, hand bloody from its previous victim. She tipped the elixir into its mouth, watched it go down its short throat. Almost instantly, the creature subdued.

The relief was only temporary though. Zafira stepped away, gesturing for Touma to finish the job. The bile rose thick in her throat and she turned away from the scene, a hand to her mouth.

 

[Wakasugi Touma]

Might have been a surprise had Touma not see her through his peripheral vision before she spoke. The ronin did little to resist her pushing herself towards the beast. In the current state, it could do little to effectively hurt even of them.

No the reason...the reason he had let her interrupt him the way she was...there was a part of him, tiny fracture, that believed that she had mixed together some miracle drink that would have been able to fix this...it was too naive to believe it, perhaps...but he had been told once...it was worth hoping....was it really?...

Touma knew better then to expect that kind of ending...it never was as clean as they told it in stories...this was part of the reality of it all...as Touma closed his eyes as he listened to Zafira speak...not a word was uttered to interrupt her...had he been able to feel more then he did...he might have said somthing...anything...to raise her spirit, raise her hope but...

...he could feel no words coming from his throat...nothing at all...

She would walk, the last thing to confirm what Touma had known; she couldn't save it...a pity...a shame...but nothing more would come from thinking about it. He would have to do the hard part...a matter that came as naturally to him as breathing...

Taking a step forward, the bladesmen gripped his weapon in both hands, opening his eyes and looking down. Taking a deep breath, he'd raise his blade up, parrallel to his shoulder.

If you blinked, you might of missed it. One moment the beast was lying still on the ground, the next the head had separated from the body...blood was now gushing onto the ground below, pooling around what was now a carcass...a carcass that no longer belonged just to a beast...as more of the ashy smoke ascend from the body, the fur began to turn from charcoal black to a milky brown...while the conjoune tusks...began to wither away and break off into smoke...reavealing the head of a normal boar...

It had been a simple animal all along, Touma realized...an animal that had somthing akin to a curse placed onto it...a curse that turned it into a beast...

The bladesmen did nothing more then stare at the rising smoke...standing up stright...bringing his sword to his hip, and sheathing his weapon...before falling onto his knees...brought his hands together...closed his eyes once moreand did somthing he hadn't done in over a decade...

He prayed...he prayed for the beast, and the forgiveness to the gods that he had forsaken so long ago...

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira didn't look Touma's way. She didn't look when she heard him unsheathe his sword again, didn't look when she heard the creature's tap against the floor.

Instead, Zafira turned away from the swordsman and the creature, throwing the light contents of her stomach out.

She could smell the burning skin of the creature's body, but she refused to look at him. If she did, she would just feel the inexplicable rage that Zafira had no right to feel. She couldn't take any comfort in the fact that the creature didn't suffer in his absolute last moments.

She turned only slightly to see what her partner was doing.

Zafira was mad at him - it was not his fault, she knew this. But still, the heart's feeling was never controlled and all she could see him right nor was as a murderer - a person who took the creature's life when Zafira's mind knew well enough that what he was doing was mercy.

Most of all, Zafira blamed herself. She'd never come close to killing anything - never even touched a fly. Right not though, she felt dirty.

The creature's blood felt like it was on her hands.

Seeing Touma's eyes closed, hands clasped together in prayer only made Zafira felt worse. She shoved the feeling away. They had to be logical. There was nothing they could do anymore.

"We should go," she murmured.