Lugaru Text RP: The Decrepit Epoch of Ruin

[Indigo]

The was a knock on Xinal's door, and the voice of Tess spoke as if she was a bit dazed.
"Can i come in ?"

[Janro]

The young cat snapped out of his 'trance' when the sound of a voice reached his ears. "Go ahead." Xinal mewed before brushing down some fur that stood up in surprise. He didn't expect anyone to knock on his door that evening.

[Indigo]

She walked in, wearing a neat silk robe. "I apologize for my sudden outburst before please forgive me" She walked over to the window where Xinal stood. Outside a dim light from a few weakly burning torches lit the night up.

The sound of something moving with a graceful speed, putting fine barefooted prints in the snow. Was just outside the rooms window in the backyard.

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Azuan felt the cool wind against his exposed chest, as he was only wearing a simple robe with royal imprints. A present he recieved from his mother shortly before the assassination of his father.

To anyone looking at him, it would look as if he was dancing a strange dance. He would move like and empty handed swordsman, practicing his families ancient arts of Aikido. His training was cut short when he noticed Tess staring at him from the window. He scoffed before drawing his Katana in a swift motion, slicing through a patch of tatami-mats he prepared for the last part of his kata, before leaving the backyard.

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Tess shook her head.

"He's so furious, but in a calm way"

[Ragdollmaster]

Sorry for the inactivity, I'll be continuing Stellos and friends' little adventure later on today

[Janro]

In contrast the cat still wore his old nearly tattered slave garb which looked rough and dull beneath the moonlight. A slight jangle from his bell was heard when he turned about to look back at her.

"It's alright. I forgive you. I understand you must care about him so in order to behave that way."

Xinal followed her gaze to the tiger down below. Silently he admired the tiger's stance and strikes. He probably finished his training. The tabby cat thought to himself as he stepped back away from the window and sat back down on the edge of his bed.

To her latest comment about Azuan he meowed in reply, "A very disciplined one that tiger is."

[Ragdollmaster]

Before he had even arrived at the small plateau that led up to the entrance of the den, the wind carried the tumultuous sound of combat to Stellos' ears, in the same way that one can hear the waves of the ocean before the beach is even visible. Audible impacts of fist against flesh, claw against tooth, mixed with intermittent growls that caused the air itself to shake- all of this, Stellos heard and processed in the few seconds it took him to fly up to the edge of the plateau. Instead of ascending immediately, Stellos grabbed the rocky surface and pulled himself up just far enough to see what was happening.

Immediately in front of him and to the right, on all fours, was a wolf, bleeding heavily and panting hard. Enzo. Scratches on his arms and bites on his abdomen hampered his movements, and every breath he drew seemed to only cause further pain. A short distance in front of Enzo, to Stellos' left, was the body of a wolf, his throat ripped out, his life cut short by Enzo's deadly fence of dagger-like teeth. Behind their fallen fellow stood two more wolves, both lightly injured, but in much better shape than Enzo. Thus far, nobody had seen or heard Stellos, and he slowly edged towards Enzo, getting behind him and preparing for what was to come. Almost imperceptibly, he heard the light shuffle of snow as one of the remaining wolves took a step forward, and then Stellos sprang into action.

With a powerful exertion of strength, he vaulted into the air above Enzo, headfirst, and flipped over in mid-air, his feet springing out and slamming into the chest of the charging wolf. The momentum of his charge combined with Stellos' sudden attack knocked the wolf clean off his feet and into his comrade, causing them to both fall backwards. Without a word, Enzo sprang up and immediately dove onto the one who had been knocked over by his companion, using his claws to inflict wicked slashes on the chest of the stunned creature, then ramming his teeth into the wolf's throat. The wolf immediately began to struggle and growl, but after only a second or two, there came an audible crunch as Enzo crushed the wolf's windpipe with his teeth. The other wolf leaped up and kicked Enzo off of his companion, sending him flying into a rock. "Oof!"

The wolf then turned to Stellos, who stood patiently waiting. "Now then, I think I'll have to tear you apart piece by piece, because that little kick of yours was pretty painful." "Just try." As the wolf growled and leaped forward, Stellos drew both of his daggers and nimbly parried a slash of the claws, a gnash of the teeth, and then with a deft spin, he was suddenly behind the attacking wolf. "WHAT THE?!" "Good-bye." Stellos slammed both of the daggers into the wolf's back, leaning into the attack and pushing the wolf into the air by the daggers' blades, eliciting a howl of massive pain. With a flick of the wrists and a swing of the arms, the wolf was dislodged, and sent tumbling down the mountainside, leaving a slick trail of blood wherever he slammed into the rock. He rolled to a silent stop at the bottom, with what little blood was left in his body pooling out next to him.

Stellos turned back to the injured wolf. "Enzo, they ambushed you as well?" "Yeah... wait- as well? Were you all ambushed?" "I wasn't there when it happened, but about a dozen wolves attacked the rest of the group. Pierre didn't make it, Ben lost his weapon, and Lily had her ear torn, but Lily and Ren are both coming up here to help us move in on the den." Enzo gave a short, harsh laugh. "Stellos... there's no point in going to the den. If what you say is true, we've killed fifteen wolves already. That's a relatively big pack. Probably all of the adults. But there are bound to be females and children in the den- maybe just one or two males who stayed behind, perhaps the alpha, if he didn't die out here- in other words, the ones who are least responsible for these attacks." "Renoe doesn't care. He wants us to slaughter every last one of them." "Because he lost his kids? And killing off the wolves' children will make that better?" "I just do what I'm paid to do. You look like you're in pretty bad shape, though... maybe you should go back down. I'll see what I can do about this den. If you see Lily and Ren coming up, tell them that I'll be waiting."

[Lotus Wolf]

Lotus heard a small struggle off to one side of the den. It became quiet, then he heard voices. He leaped toward the sounds, rolling as he hit the ground after the long jump. He silently crept through the underbrush, seeming more of a cat or a rat, than a wolf. As he reached the spot where the sounds were coming from...

"Renoe doesn't care. He wants us to slaughter every last one of them." "Because he lost his kids? And killing off the wolves' children will make that better?" "I just do what I'm paid to do. You look like you're in pretty bad shape, though... maybe you should go back down. I'll see what I can do about this den. If you see Lily and Ren coming up, tell them that I'll be waiting."

Lotus heard most of this, and understood it to be the language he had learned in the cities. These people seemed to have been fighting the wolves off. Lotus took most note of that fact as he stepped out of the bushes and said: "Do you need help?"

[Indigo]

Tess shook her head "I don't know what i feel about him. He's a beast, but we all owe him"
She sat down, leaning against Xinal. "His little brother is Sezuan Tonnere. And they are the former the Emperor, Azatsu Haruka's sons"

She shifted a bit uncomfortable in the cold room. She got up and over to the oven by the wall. Making an attempt to light the wood in it to heat the room a bit. Failing pretty badly. But she kept explaining with with frustration in her voice.

"I know it sounds stupid and highly unlikely. But Azuan, is the true heir to the throne of Caeli"

She finally gave up, putting the tinder box down. "Argh stupid thing."

She sat in front of the oven, with her feet against each other.

"Sezuan, the little brother to Azuan, had the former Emperor killed. In order to get the throne. He would have killed Azuan too, but failed. He sends mercenaries and scum to get him a lot"

She took a deep breath "He's going to the Anvil. To see their emperor, to convince him to let him assemble a team of strong fighters from their country. The dogs will probably slaughter him. And even if he succeeds, and gets on the emperors good side. Sezuan will get him killed... I don't want that to happen. He's like a brother to me

She turned around, embracing the brief moment of silence.
"It's why i ask you now... Please, don't go. Don't throw your life away for nothing too. It's not worth it. I beg of you." Stuttering, she tugged her knee's up to her chest. "Too many people suffered because of this. It's not right. No more, please."

[Ragdollmaster]

Stellos jumped back a little in shock as the stranger stepped out of the bushes- he normally prided himself on his highly keen perception, but he hadn't heard the approach of this man at all. What was more, he was a wolf, and not a hostile one... "Well, that depends. How exactly could you help us?"

[Lotus Wolf]

Lotus advanced a few more paces and said: "Well, I could help your friend there," He gestured to the wounded wolf. "or go with you. Either way, I'm skilled fighting wolves, and these ones killed a friend of mine." Lotus moved toward the wounded wolf cautiously, so as not to be misunderstood. He looked the other wolf in the eyes, which might have been taken as a challenge inside wolf culture, however, this wolf was fighting for these people. There was a slight understanding there, and then Lotus began pulling small herb poultices out of his cloak and tucking them into the wolfs wounds. After the quick treatment, he stood and waited on the earlier conversation.

[Janro]

The cold room didn't bother the cat too much as he's used to not having heaters or blankets when he sleeps on the coldest of nights. However he did still shiver when the rabbit revealed the tiger's name and persona. The young feline's eyes widened with shock. "He's who?!" He looked back out the window trying to recall some memories. All those descriptions he heard from those around him only now made sense to the tabby when he connected it with Azuan, at least in terms of appearance. "I didn't realize he was Azuan Tonerre."

He watched the rabbit give up and plop down on the floor. A soft grunt emanated from his throat as he stood to pick up the tinder box. With practiced ease he lit the wood creating a small fire which he eventually brings to life with a mixture of blowing and blocking from the cold draft that passed occasionally through the open window. While doing so he listened to the rabbit explain further.

Once the deed was done he returned back to his place on the bed. He couldn't say anything apart from nothing. And so that's what he did. Which prompted Tess to continue on explaining why she didn't want him to go.

"I understand your worry. But if what you say is true then he's going to need all the help he can get." Xinal looked down at the bed sheets and sighed. "What difference do I make to the list of deaths? I'm just a stranger who showed up not a few hours ago." Realization dawned on him and he continued, "I haven't even gotten the chance to introduce myself, and here you are worrying about that I may die among the many others."

[Indigo]

Tess narrowed her eyes.
"You are naive, if you think i'm gonna let more blood be spilled on Azuan's behalf. This is the third time he's trying this. I watched as my brothers threw them self in to the jaws of hell for him. All are dead, along with entire villages of Chante" She got up and grabbed him by the collar of his clothes.
"Can you even begin to imagine what that feels like. -This- is all i have left. Azuan, and this mud pit. And if he goes to pull another stunt like that, i will suffer yet another loss. I won't allow it"

[Janro]

"What do you expect? I've been stuck in some forsaken place building structures for most of my life thus far." The cat stared back at her eyes unblinking even when she grabbed him by the collar. His bell jangled loudly in response.

"Tell him that!" The cat reached up to place a paw on her shoulder. "But know this: I just got my freedom back. There's no way I'm going to die now." He meowed rather softly. "If I wanted to die then I'd have killed myself alongside my sister back then to get out of slavery." He pursed his lips together before sighing. "If you want I'll be his conscience to make sure he doesn't go on a killing spree."

[Indigo]

Tess pulled her self free from the stranger, in a reluctant manner. Turned around, walking towards the door.

"Goodnight, Nanashi"
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Yes, Nanashi is a PUN: Because Xinal still wasn't introduced properly to her yet.
Nanashi = Nameless or No-Name
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[Janro]

Xinal watched her go and mentally scolds himself. So much for actually trying to be proper. Better late than never he guessed. He's gonna have to properly introduce himself tomorrow to Azuan and Dina.

"Xinal." He meowed before he said to her a "Good night," as well. The cat sighed and slowly lowered himself down onto the bed to rest for the night.