Open Chronicles Where Angels Do Not Tread

[Jahi]

Sitting mostly in silence after Aless had unceremoniously scooped him onto her horse, Jahi contemplated all that was going on. Jaken had turned out to be a thief, and not a particularly cunning one. And of equal interest, Aless was having none of it. He sat, trying to be as unobtrusive and unnoticeable as he could. That said, he rather liked the position he had been given on the horse. Granted, it didn't give him any control over the beast, but it gave him plenty control over himself. Should he have need of them, all he would have to do is let go of Aless and spread his wings, and he would be soaring.

After several minutes of tension between the two, Jahi decided that it might be time to break some of this ice, assuming they were to work together. "Sooo...this Path. What do you know of it? I hadn't heard much before today to be honest. Is this some sort of protection the temple has for itself?" Her tension had not gone unnoticed to Jahi, and its return with the question left Jahi with some regrets. But he persisted.

"You said it would know our hearts?" And then in a barely audible whisper to Aless, "Do you fear your heart?" The instant spike in tension made him nearly fall off Araxa, but to his credit, he stayed seated, willing to take whatever fallout would come of his curiosity.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken had heard (and given) many insults throughout his life as a werewolf. He wouldn't be weirded about it, werewolves have always been loke like foxes: untrustworthy, backstabbers, everything that would make someone second guessing himself when it was time to partner up with a werewolf like him. So, Aless calling him out for being a thief (though, he disagreed) was at the bottom of his list of insults. Aless could call him whatever he wanted, after all, he only cared about the job and the rewards, not the 'friends' he would get along the way.

If that is how you treat your allies, werewolf, it is no wonder that you have none.

"I am a lone wolf." he said "I don't get along with many others, especially because I'm a werewolf. They would most likely chop my head off. I don't have a pack because I can't stand their 'blood rules' or 'moral codes'. Why follow them when I can follow myself? Sorry to disappoint you ma'am, but I won't be your fuzzy puppy through this adventure."

Aless commented about the this famous Path. Apparently, it knows the heart of whoever walks it. Jaken wasn't entirley sure what it meant, but for some reason, he was nervous. Jaken suspected of what could come once he crossed this path. He didn't want anyone to 'look' at his heart. And if it did, would he be exposed? Would the Path tell everyone what his heart has been through? All the events that led up to what he is now?
Jaken just stared at Aless when she mentioned the Path, then back down at the horse he 'stole'.

His heart beated faster

 

[Aless Frostborn]

"Yes, I imagine it is some manner of defense for the temple, or at least the expression of the faith that built it. It takes a great deal of magic and devotion to carve that much rock. I have heard many stories of it, though I have never known one to walk it and return. Even the priestess that came to me with this task did not descend it. Her mother made the journey just before she was born, fleeing the catastrophe," Aless said thoughtfully. "It is difficult to sort through all the chaff that fills every tall tale. Supposedly the temple has been there for more than two thousand years, hidden away from the world by the mountains around it and the Path itself. That is the one common thread through all the stories of the Path: it knows the hearts of those who walk it and tests accordingly. It makes me wonder if there was any truth to the story of an attacking force from outside, but perhaps I'm giving it more credit than it is due."

On horseback, they wouldn't take too long to reach it. A week's worth of road probably meant at least one encounter with some bandits, but if they were smart, they would look right past the small group and find another target. Not that bandits were known for their intellectual capacities. In which case, they could expect combat along the road, but Aless always carried that expectation.

Jahi's question jarred her out of those thoughts. Do you fear your heart? His question burned like a white-hot brand in the front of her mind. Did she fear her heart? Fear was not an emotion she was terribly familiar with any more. In her childhood, she had been afraid, but fear quickly turned to anger at every curse or kick. Trembling in her first battle, but again, fear turned to wrath swiftly with the first of her friends she saw cut down. The last time she had been afraid, truly afraid to lose something that mattered...she destroyed it herself with a fire of hatred worthy of some demonic avenger. It was only after when the ashes settled and she realized the magnitude of the loss...

There was more reason than one that her blade was called Woe.

"I do not fear my heart," Aless said quietly. "I grieve it and what it has done."

 

[Jahi]

Digesting each of their responses in turn, Jahi kept his beak silent. A trait that anyone who knew him would realize was a problem. In all his years, the juvenile Raaka spent most of his time speaking, either to himself or to whatever company he happened to have. And yet several hours of silence in the company of his two companions did not coax his tongue to speak. It was only later in the evening while the trio made camp that Jahi decided to break that silence once again.

Jahi deposited a fresh pile of deadwood in front of the fire Aless had been starting. Jaken was in the nearby countryside hunting for dinner for himself, something about the taste of dear hearts, Jahi tried not to linger too heavily on the subject. He himself would be partaking of his seedcake and some honey. He set up his bedroll, then sat in front of the fire to eat.

He cleared his throat nervously before beginning. "Care for some honey for the rations, Aless? I brought more than I perhaps should have, but I have a taste for it." Setting the tiny pot between them, he produced a second from the pouch to show the Half-Elf before sliding it back in. "I know your heart is none of my business, and I won't ask. But I've been thinking on mine. I don't know if I know mine. Even Jaken has confidence in where his is."

Jahi's wings began to squeeze in close, as though to hide him or make him safe. "You mourn, and he devours, and I speak. A thin veneer at the best of times. How can I even prepare for something like this path?!" Jahi sat listening for any hope that might come his way from this veteran sitting before him.

_____________________________________________________________​

When Jaken returned, he was back in his normal form, no sign of blood on his clothes. "Good hunt?"

Jahi considered asking him if he wanted to hear the song about him that he hadn't commissioned, then thought better of it. If he ever wanted to hear it, then perhaps Jahi should until he requests it. Besides, Jahi had more serious conversation to finish. "So, how do you plan on coping with your heart on the Path? I...am trying to get advice. Much use as it will be."

After Jaken's response and the three were settling into watches and sleep, Jahi remembered a question he had suppressed earlier, but now was as good a time as any. "So Jaken, when a lycanthrope shifts, do the clothes change as well, or do you have to strip yourself of everything you don't want to destroy?" A perfect ending note for the day.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken decided to hunt in his human form for the night, he didn't want much movement in his wolf form today. That thing Aless said about the Path knowing the hearts and alll that made Jaken think. He really was not sure what his heart was. He convinced himself that it was a near stone, he didn't let others know about his feelings and what he though, he always locked up what he had. He always thought that exposing his feelings made him vulnerable, and was right in a way. If the enemy knows your emotional weaknesses, it might use them against you, and since the mind is the worst enemies of oneself, he always eliminated what he though. But for some reason, Aless made him question that, and what will the path do once it... judges? Looks? He wasn't sure what it will do, and that left him thinking.

Minutes later, he returned to a camp the group has set for the night, he had brought along a bag that was empty and clean at first, but now, it was a full, heavy, bloody sack of meat. "It's deer." he explained "But it's raw, so if anyone wants to cook it, do it yourself, I'm sure you know how to use the campfire for good use. I won't eat now. Already have..." he dropped the bag of meat near the fire "Hope you didn't wished for heart. We are... out of stock." he laughed.

So, how do you plan on coping with your heart on the Path? I...am trying to get advice. Much use as it will be.

"To be honest, I don't know." he told Jahi "I really don't know what I will do when the time comes. <<Don't tell him your doubts, you'd be exposing a vulnerability.>> But that doesn't worry me." he said, giving Jahi his back.

So Jaken, when a lycanthrope shifts, do the clothes change as well, or do you have to strip yourself of everything you don't want to destroy?

Jaken turned around swiftly, looking at Jahi with a weird face "Awkward way to end the day." he rolled back, giving his back once again to Jahi. He sighed "I have to strip down. My clothes doesn't change along with my werewolf form, and since I have to change into this big beast, all my clothes would tear apart, and I wouldn't like that. I like these clothes, you see. So whenever I transform, I strip down and THEN transform. After I come back to my human form, I'd go for the clothes I left and dress back on. Any other questions? Would you like to know if in my werewolf form I expose my genitals to the world?" he asked with a slight aggressive tone.

 

[Aless Frostborn]

Aless studied Jahi’s expression. She wasn’t good at reading raaka expressions, as her main experience with one had been dealing with a tortured wreckage that she had brought to a swift, merciful end. With that blow, the world around her had frozen solid—if one asked those who had been present. Aless liked silence, but she had always found a special joy in the way she could press it like a razor into soft, quivering, fearful minds. She spent so many moments like that watching their eyes plead for something, anything, besides silent dread. Their minds could inflict cruelties beyond her native inventiveness, but she had always been good at following the threads to act upon whatever horrors they feared most.

“Thank you,” Aless said when Jaken returned to camp with a kill. She wasn’t going to be rude and she had only called him a thief because she believed in calling things what they were. Honesty was a value she had learned to appreciate on an otherworldly level.

She looked over at the raaka. “Truth,” Aless said as she carved a roast from the slain deer and then stripped a branch to spit it so they could actually roast it. “That is my advice, Jahi. Don’t run from it, don’t hide from it, just let the truth of you be. Tests like this are the same as that first charge, the moments that shape you, the hardships that bring not only who you are but who you become into focus. In my experience, the most dangerous thing in your heart is you.”

She sighed a little, turning the ring through her right earlobe. She kept her ears pierced now out of habit, despite the danger of them being ripped out in an unarmored fight. She was not looking forward to the Path, even if she hoped it would burn away some of the darkness in her soul like a ray of sunlight. Hopefully it wouldn’t be inclined to tell her story to her companions as well.

 

[Jahi]

Truth

The word had mulled about in his head for a little while before Jaken had returned. Even his heart, from what little he did know, knew that he and truth did not touch base often. His life up to this point had more or less been a long series of scams or cons. At least he viewed them as such. Moving from place to place, never holding work or attention for long. By his people's standards, he wasn't even fully an adult yet. He would't be for several years. Not that it was truly uncommon for the brashness of youth to lead one away from the caravan at an early age; but Jahi was not about to surrender his age to anyone here.

But it is Truth.

Jahi was truly relieved when he could ask a second opinion.

________________________________________________________​

So, Unflinching Courage and Truth...I'm doomed.

His question concerning Jaken's transformation was as much to cause a bit of fun as it was to distract Jahi from the ministrations of his own mind. And it worked, sort of...

Because then, Jaken answered, and nudity was the answer, though a strange genderless form? Jahi tried his best to not dwell on it. And failed. But in his growing wisdom, he was able to hold his tongue before continuing down that line of questions, instead resigning himself to letting the ideas bounce around inside his head. And then, mercifully, sleep claimed him.

________________________________________________________​

The morning was cold, and the damp clung to all that was exposed. Jahi was reluctant to part with his bedroll, but the dawn would be soon upon them; and judging by Aless and Jaken having already stirred, it was time to go. He rolled out of his bedding and unfurled his wings, letting his impressive wingspan shiver off the cold and dew. Then, after a quick bite from one of his many rolls, he was ready to depart.

 

[Adriwolf]

He did not regret spilling that answer to Jahi. Nudity in his werewolf form. He actually found it silly after answering it. Jaken fell into deep sleep soon, with the wind and the sound of the fire crackling rocking him. Though sleep was relaxing, he couldn't stop thinking about the Path. What would it do? If it judged the hearts of others, would the Path do something? Would it reward those who have pure heart and punish those who were stone hearted? He wasn't sure. But all those worries faded away with sleep...

Jaken was the first to wake up. The half-elf and the Raaka were still asleep. He didn't cared. He took everything they used the night prior and packed it: food, sleeping bags, supplies, weapons. All of them were already on the horse's bags. With nothing else to do, he waited for the others to wake up. The sun was peeking from behind the mountains, which meant it was dawn. The second most peacfull time of the day. Were the breeze was still freash, and the birds (not anthropormophic ones) sang to wake everyone up. If there was a lake nearby, it would be perfect, he could take a shower on it. But, none of those were nearby. What a shame.

"Good morning." he said to Aless once she woke up "I already packed everything up to continue with our ride." he climbed to the horse he picked. Then looked to Jahi, who was still asleep "You'd figure he'd be awake to sing alongside his brothers." he told Aless with a joking tone.
He looked to the trees in search of birds, then whistled a fragment of a tune her mother used to sing him to put him to sleep, to which the birds responded with the exact tone Jaken did. Jahi woke up seconds later "You missed it!" he screamed "You could have sang with your friends." he laughed.

 

[Aless Frostborn]

Aless had not been entirely as asleep as Jaken saw. Sometimes it was most educating to listen with eyes closed, relying on her keen hearing to paint a picture of what was happening in camp. She was an incredibly light sleeper, at least for certain sounds. The memories of her nightmares lingered with her, like the clinging smell of smoke after walking through the remnants of an inferno.

...Why? You were my whole world! I would have done anything for you! Why?...

...The same reason you do everything. And let us not pretend: you never loved me...

She sat up as if newly awake, blinking her eyes into wakefulness. Araxa was almost at her side in camp, positioned between her and the others. The warhorse’s saddle had not been put on him, her gear packed but wisely not on him. Araxa had done grievous injury to anyone but Aless who aimed to tamper with him. He’d broken arms and ribs, cracked skulls, lacerated flesh, bitten deeply, and stomped almost to death those who tried. People forgot when he leaned his head into her hand and snuffled gently at her that he was a beast trained to one purpose: to fight and kill.

She rose to her feet and saddled up her horse, padding the area behind the saddle with cloth, as a favor to their raaka companion. She did stop to brush out Araxa’s short mane, ignoring whatever impatience the werewolf might be simmering with. She ate iron rations as she worked. It was hardly the best tasting meal, but it was filling enough for the road.

She also took the time to don her armor, something that came so easily that it seemed automatic, no thought required, and was substantially swifter than most warriors.

Once Jahi was up and ready to go, she stepped up into the stirrup and swung her leg over before leaning down far enough to catch hold of the raaka and pull him up behind her.

“Good morning,” Aless said to both of them, tone muted. She was never at her best in the morning, not with all those emotions stirred by the dreams raw and close to the surface. Hopefully, everyone would be smart enough not to start needling her. Her normal patience was not in attendance.

Her old self was too close, chained to her by grief and the power of history.

 

[Jahi]

"Oh very funny. The lesser birds though beautiful in voice, are as close to myself as you and other Humans are to tail-less rats. But I do not take offense, Jaken. Many are jealous of our wings, only wishing to feel the sky beneath you." One wing stretched out to its full span, then Jahi pulled it back in and did the same with the other. "But if you wish a song, I will gladly oblige."

Jahi finished rolling his pack, just as he was scooped up by Aless onto the great destrier. He firmed up his grip for his fear of being knocked off Araxa before he asked, "You do not mind if I were to sing, do you? I will be soft."

Receiving no true affirmation or condemnation, Jahi decided to go for it, if for a short song. Perhaps it was the tone of his dreams, or the tone of his company, but the song had been in his mind at this moment, and he felt the need to sing it. His opening tones were of a trilling tenor, and slowly the notes lowered themselves to an easy lilt, his voice keeping a dulcet low tenor.

The softest touch
Of spring's first dew,
A lover's cant
To carry you
(To) my heart once more.

We met against
Our people's wish
And love was quick to bloom.
The bastard of a caravan
With grace of knightly groom,
And the child of a great house
Dest'ny all but writ.

The softest touch
Of spring's first dew,
A passion's ode
To bear your love
To my heart once more.

In the moment
Of our crime
We broke our family ties
Across the moors at setting sun
We made safe our escape
Yet treachry we could not await
Our dearest ally's guilt

The softest touch
Of spring's first dew,
A dreadful knell
To drive the knife
Into my heart once more.

Your life avenged
That bitter day
My anguish will endure
For the life that we once had.
Its sting a bitter blade
Calling me to find our life
Alone
Without You
Still.

The soft, bittersweet tones slowed, and then halted, leaving a heaviness on the last few. Jahi sat in silence, his heart weighed by the melancholic tune his mind had lingered on. It was a song his mother had taught him before he had left the caravan. She had called it her favorite song from the Allirian Humans. Jahi felt it most appropriate, given the matters of the heart that the trio were soon to face; but he could not stop the tears from reaching his face. Home, with the caravan, was where his love lie.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken couldn't help but to laugh at Jahi's comparison of humans and rats "Well, lemme tell you something Jahi. I am not entirely human, I am a werewolf. Neither is Aless, she's a half elf. Not human, as far as I know. And if you think about it, I do have a tail: not a rat's, but a wolf's one. So, I think that's ok with me. Now, shall we proceed with the ride to the Path."

Jaken didn't expected Jahi to sing, though he didn't payed attention to the lyrics, he couldn't ignore the tone Jahi was signing, he wasn't a choir teacher, or knew about the theme, so he couldn't tell if Jahi was in good or bad tone. Nontheless, when Jahi finished the song, Jaken had to make his dick-ish review "Not bad, at all. At least you were better than this other person... what was his name? Q'Urith Narn? I think it was. Terrible singer. The voice made the song weird. So, when it comes to you, I think you are not that bad." he commented.

After that, Jaken did not made any other comment, he went with a quiet trip, so if someone had a conversation with someone else but him, he would be quiet until reaching destination. That is how things worked for him.

 

[Aless Frostborn]

Aless considered herself hardened in matters of the heart. Scar tissue that surrounded the wounds, pulled tightly into armor. And yet, Jahi’s little song cut her to the quick. She felt an un almost unfamiliar ache in her eyes, a wish for tears that went forbidden. She had only wept once, on the field of battle, in the face of treachery and true pain, holding onto the broken body that had devastated her.

She would not, could not, shed another tear. Normally she felt cold inside, empty. Jahi reminded her that she was still alive, still capable of feeling in her frostbitten soul.

Once the song ended, Aless shifted in her saddle, leaning forward to stroke Araxa’s neck. The contact with her beloved horse steadied her.

“That is quite the song, Jahi,” she said once she knew her voice wouldn’t shake. “I did not take you for a bard or poet. Well performed.”

She closed her eyes and the smell of blood, of death, washed over her like a cruel wave. She could feel hot liquid on her hands, trying to stem the tide left by Woe’s piercing blade.

You never loved me.

But she had, deeper than the ocean, more constant than stone. In moments like these, it felt as though half herself was ripped away. It reminded her brutally of her wish to have died on that battlefield the moment her rage ended, before she realized what she had done.

“Quite the song,” she murmured, words lost against her lips, gripping the saddle horn.

 

[Jahi]

"I...couldn't forget it this morning, so it had to be put out there. Thanks."

Jahi tilted his head shyly and rubbed his shoulder with his beak. The road ahead was going to be long, and he couldn't quite pull himself to be completely silent. It just wasn't in him. No doubt it would irritate his companions before the end, and he would try avoiding that outcome, but his was an overactive mind.

"My mother taught me that one. Truly, most of the songs I know came from her. She does so love to sing. She told me once that in her younger days she was called the Siren of the Steppes, and that whole tribes of Orcs would turn out of their path to find the caravan and listen to her." Jahi was glad neither of them could see him, because he had begun to blush, and his feathers tended to fluff with that. "She inspired my own singing. Despite stories that says otherwise, not all Raaka can sing."

Over the next several days, many conversations would follow in much the same way.

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken kept thinking about Jahi´s singing backstory. His mother inspired him to sing. That made Jaken think: how his mother tucked him to sleep when he was a small boy and couldn't sleep due to insomnia or a nightmare, all those innocent times, slashed away. He had lost his mother 7 years ago, so all that time without someone to truly rely on was harsh. And then again, the thought of the Path judging his heart. He couldn't get that thought out of his mind. It was concerning Jaken, but why? Now that he though about it, Jaken could care less about the Path telling his story to the others. He never cared about what others might think of him. He was a lone wolf. He needed no one to tell him how to be. He didn't.... he didn't....

The field also had small conversations, to which Jaken did not joined. He wanted the job to be over and that was it. No more chit chatting or signing a campfire song. Just get the job done, get paid, and go home.

The forest made for a peacfull environment, the leaves dancing with the music of the wind, the leaves being crushed beneath the horse's hoof. It allowed Jaken to close his eyes and meditate.

 

[Aless Frostborn]

The first three days of the journey passed without anything remarkable occurring. Aless spent the nights up in the middle, taking the least desirable watch so that Jaken and Jahi could sleep uninterrupted. It was a courtesy she extended whether or not it was appreciated. She didn’t have much hope that Jaken would become more agreeable, which suited her fine if she was honest. Aless had long ago stopped being likable and even with her ways somewhat mended, she was still brusque and often cold. She never expected anyone to care about her or care to be around her. Even her fellow villagers only offered her that warmth because they were ignorant of who she was...or once had relished being.

All the things that had made her so good at what she’d done her whole life still lingered in her psyche. The taste for blood, the hunger for fear, the pleasure she’d derived from every torment inflicted...it was still there. She hated it, but nothing she did could make it go away. Even this pilgrimage wouldn’t change it, god of redemption or no.

She could cut away her flesh any way she liked, but this, this was the bone and it would always be there, whether exposed or hidden.

Aless spoke as they traveled, but not often and never about herself. She didn’t know either of them that well. Her main concern was that the Path might reveal things about her to them. Jaken seemed the type to turn if motivated by a substantial sum of money and sue knew there were at least a few bounties on her head even now that could be considered princely. Or if he had a heart, he could kill a woman who commanded the worst of the worst, slaughtered indiscriminately, and even turned villages in the dead of winter into forests of the impaled. Frostborn had been a name of dread, a specter of total war fought in without honor or mercy, as unfeeling and cold as frosted steel.

As Aless knew, however, nothing was quiet forever. As they rode at a slower, more sustainable pace, she got that old feeling crawling across her skin. Aless trusted nothing more than her own intuition. She drew Araxa to a halt. His ears flicked, a sign he’d heard something too. “We’re being watched,” Aless said brusquely. “Likely a lookout or two. We should prepare for an ambush ahead. Either beasts or bandits.”

 

[Abomination]

An entity referred to as "The Abomination" was exploring the forest. The Ooze monster looked around the nature, feeding on animals.

While the monster is confused about his past, having no memories about its origin, it had a strange desire to murder... maybe something related to his backstory? The Abomination looked around, oozing itself between trees to navigate. It sees a young women (a NPC), exploring the forest. She seems to be lost, but that doesn't matter to the abomination. As the women was traveling, she smelt something resembling... gasoline? Before she was able to react, she came face to face with the Abomination....

After devouring what's left of her, the Abomination realized that other travelers might not be so easy to defeat.... a instinct he was somewhat familiar with?

He gets an idea...

Shifting its mass and appearance into the women it killed, it traveled across the forest, looking for signs of life...

 

[Jahi]

Jahi had been in the middle of a bawdy tale from from the Steppes, about a Raaka maid and an Orc Ohieftan, how she had tricked him his fortune, and how they fell madly in love after one night of passion; thus resulting in the birth of the first Strix. It was however near the end of this that Aless halted. He may not have been as perceptive as the others, but he caught the hint the moment they stopped.

"Perhaps I should leave you to Araxa. Jaken, you should continue with Aless forward. I will circle quietly to the rocks east of here and see if I can get a vantage and shot on our observers. I can tumble after this copse, and with luck and a bit of stealth, I might go unnoticed."

After nominal and subtle acknowledgement, he proceeded. He dropped off the back of Araxa and tumbled with little sound. Then, as he began to weave his way through the trees, he saw them...and they saw him. In a moment Jahi was airborne and turning with bow.

"Jaken! Aless! They're here!"

Spoiler

Are you feeling lucky?BOTToday at 9:47 PM

Cthulhanoid (Ultuk, Tathra, +3): 1d20 = (1) = 1

Cthulhanoid (Ultuk, Tathra, +3)Today at 9:48 PM


Balls

 

[Adriwolf]

Jaken, as he had done throughout the journey, had been kept quiet. Only listening to nature, however, it was sometimes broken through Jahi's speech. The wolf was about to tell him to shut up, but before he could do that, Aless stopped the travel. The half-elf informed that they might be observed and that they should be on lookout. Jaken nodded without saying a word. Jahi offered to stay behind and guard their back. The bounty hunter did not mind, in fact, it may seem like a strategic advantage, Jahi (being a bird) could scout the area in search of some hostiles directed to their way.
Jaken continued with Aless to be aware of any hostiles. However, before he could advance to search the area, he heard it:

"Jaken! Aless! They're here!"

In that moment, an arrow flew right besides his cheek, almmost scratching it, but it failed. However, Jahi was right. THEY were here. "Get cover!" he ordered, steering the horse to safety. Once the horse was safe behind an enormous log, Jaken jumped down and armed himself with the crossbow, putting his hoody and bandana on.

 

[Abomination]

The Abomination, disguised as a young women he killed, traveled across the forest. As the monster searched for people and other lifeform, he started observing his surrondings.

"I feel more connected and stronger in nature... wonder why..." The Abomination thought as he continued walking through the forest. Wondering that, he felt that this might be connected to his past.

However, before he finished his train of thought, he heard something, seemely a fight...?

(Mind if I intervine in the fight?)

 

[Aless Frostborn]

(OOC: By all means join, just please check the message in the convo that Adriwolf started for the baseline stuff)

Aless sighed, the rush of adrenaline through her body filling her with that unnatural calm. She guided Araxa behind the log with Jaken’s stolen horse and swung down out of the saddle. She hated the fact that there would be blood, mostly because she knew she would enjoy it. She hated that about herself, but it refused to die.

She donned her helm. It was distinctive, the visor shaped like a serene woman’s face, though it was scarred from a great deal of use. Completely armored, Aless prowled towards the position of archers that Jahi had pointed out. Woe remained in its sheath, but she drew Solace, the shortsword she wore on her left side that had been the execution tool for many, many kills. The blade was broad at the hilt and the middle, coming to a razor point, reinforced by a ridge down the center of the blade on either side.

These bandits would not require Woe and she was loathe to draw it unless she had to, despite the fact that it was her favorite weapon.

The next arrow broke against her breastplate. They weren’t prepared for someone in armor. She moved with a dancer’s grace up the hill, picking up speed with every step. They could try to run, but that wouldn’t save them.

 

[Jahi]

Having been noticed and subsequently shot at, Jahi flew up into the air and spun around, stringing his bow with a taloned foot and hand. Beneath him, Jaken had taken cover, and Aless was charging their position. He took a shot, and then thought of his cowardice. If she were able to face them head-on, why was he falling back at first contact.

So he flew, as fast as he could, to the position of the archers, and dropped to a position behind. Drawing his shortblade, he moved to engage.

 

[Adriwolf]

"WHERE DID THESE COME FROM??!!" Jaken roared, peeking out of cover and shooting the crossbow. He landed the bolt on someone's abdomen. But seeing that the assailant's were far away, he'd probably had to get closer and use the knives. He hung his crossbow on his back and climbed the tree he was taking cover from. His years as a werewolf had taught him how to use nature's environment as a strategic advantage. He used branches to get closer to the hostiles: leaping from branch to branch, using them to monkey bar closer. He eventually caught up to them withou being noticed. It was time for some action. Taking out a cobat knife, he dropped down to one of the hostiles, pinninghim to the ground and stabbing him in the nape. One was down. Since he had crossed to the enemy's line, he could see how many attackers were there. With the pure sight he counted at least 7, and that was just from the ground level, Jahi had been attacked by an arrow, which meant that there are more. He took out some throwing knives and launched one, striking one goon in the spine, if it did not killed him, it would leave him paralyzed.

Jaken backed up for a strategic plan, however, he smelled something. SOmething unusual, maybe flammable. It smelled like gasoline. "HEADS UP!!" he yelled at his compannions "THEY MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING FLAMMABLE ON THEIR SLEEVE."

 

[Abomination]

The Abomination, a mass of ooze disguised in the shape and color of a young girl, ran towards an enemy archer. Something about "her" movement seems unusual, it's as if her body is bending. The enemy archer, who was one of the many attempting to kill the adventurers, were surprised seeing someone ran behind him like that.

The Abomination stretched its arm out, as his palm hits the breastplate of the archer, while a spike made from hardened ooze stabbed out from its palm. The spike managed to break through the breastplate and stab into the enemy archer. However, the breastplate absorbed most of the force.

The enemy archer fell back (Not fatally wounded), shooting an arrow into the Abomination's chest. The Arrow penetrated deep into the Abomination's chest, destroying some of the Slime-cells it's constructed out of. The Abomination, still resembling a human girl, staggered back from the shock. However, no blood came out of her.

The Abomination recovered from the shock, as it pulled out the arrow. Looking down at the Archer with a cold face, it walked towards the archer. The archer attempted to aim another arrow at the Abomination.




(FYI, The Abomination's body is made of tons of microscopic "slime-cells". The slime balls itself can be damaged. The severity and amount of slime-cells damaged will affect how long the Abomination is "stunned for." The more slime-cells damaged or destroyed, the weaker the Abomination will be. Elemental attack such as fire, acid and electricity are more effective on it because it will destroy those "Slime-cells" on a larger scale.)

 

[Aless Frostborn]

Aless was not a creature who flinched, not in her fundamental nature, certainly not when winter was pouring through her veins. When her blood was up, she ran cold instead of hot, even more aware of her surroundings than usual and committed to the core without losing her reason.

She struck at one of the archers, flicking her blade into his neck almost effortlessly with enough force to sever it. There was a seamless grace that came with a lifetime of war. If she had been human, she would have aged and grown feeble. This was not the case, not with how she favored her elven side. Her fluid grace granted her a power that put her equal with larger, more bullish fighters. What had allowed her to dominate the battlefield in the past, however, was not that. It was her aggression, ruthless pursuit of her foe with seemingly endless blows, without visible indication of pain from her or weakness. The only direction her foes went was backwards, sometimes fighting and sometimes just falling, overwhelmed by her native ferocity.

The half-elf was something that could only be created by exceptional cruelty and perpetuated by the same. In the past three years, she had exorcised no part of that demon despite her best effort.

She caught a glimpse of Jaken and Jahi at work, but she didn't spend much time focusing on that. She just pivoted and killed the last standing of the archers present with a smooth thrust to the base of his skull. There would be more, that much was a guarantee. With this many archers, there would be a sizable number of bandits in the area, something both unexpected and entirely unwelcome.

Coming face to face with a young girl was disconcerting, but Aless was no fool. By the way the girl moved, something unnatural was at work. She doubted necromancy. In her experience, a walking corpse still moved like the beast or person it had been in life, as they were structured the same, at least if the necromancer was any good. And their spine still behaved like a spine, which didn't seem to be the case with this one.

"You should go," she told the creature, flicking the blood off her sword with one easy movement. "There will be more, and I am not certain if that is a fight you wish." She in no way expected it to be allied with her, however, so she kept a wary eye on it. "Jahi, Jaken, are you well?"

 

[Jahi]

Jahi weaved through the air to make safe his landing; and he was swift, but not swift enough. The archers were quick to notice the Raaka's descent, and several took their shots, one arrow piercing his right foot. Crying out in pain, Jahi spun through the air and landed on one of the archers, knocking them to the ground, and the wind out of both of them. In the ensuing struggle to pull a blade in the snow, Jahi barely noticed the presence of Jaken and Aless, let alone the strange little girl that had appeared. All that mattered was that he survive, to the next minute, to the next moment.

Pain. And cold. His muscles strained, all of his focus on the blade in hand. And then...warmth. Ease as the grip loosened from the other side.

Jahi sat there, kneeling over the corpse of a bowman. A faint steam rose from his blade, the bowman's blood cooling as his blade was exposed to the winter air. Jahi dropped his sword in the snow, which was stained red in all directions. His wings and taloned hands fell limply to his sides. His whole body quivering with fear and exertion. His first kill in battle.

"Jahi, Jaken, are you well?" Aless' voice cut through him. He wasn't certain what he had been thinking, but her sharp, direct voice snapped him to the reality of his situation.

"...ah...I..." His voice caught in his throat, far more hoarse than the songbird's had been before. And then he became acutely aware of the arrow rolling around in his foot, his own blood mixing in the snow.

"I-I'm here! I...Ah-ha! Might have made a mistake." He giggled hysterically through the pain, his eyes welling up. He tried to hide what he could, wiping the liquid from his face and suppressing the laughter. He wanted so hard not to leave a bad impression, and he knew neither of his companions took kindly to weakness.