Phoenixes Part I: Dark Morning

[Athios von Krauss]

(OOC: Sorry I'm late, but I had my birthday party over the weekend. I had next to no time between hanging with my friends and drawing.)

It was hard to say when I fell asleep, but morning came clear and bright. A distant bird call, loud enough to be heard at a distance, awakened me. I stirred, and slowly stretches my limbs. I jump, and land hard on the ground. The impact awakens me fully.
I turn to look into the hollow of the tree.
"Hey, girls, I think it's time to leave. Girls?" I peek inside and jump back.
"Fire's heart, what? Where are you?"
There is a faint rustling of leaves, and I turn toward the sound, drawing my fullblade. Last night's events will not stir the tide again...  

[OokamiShiroi]

((no prob, no prob. And Happy Birthday by the way!))

"Be careful if point that at me you do. Take it away from you I might." I said, stepping out from the trees. My scales shone clean of last night's muck and I held a damp towel over one arm, the pack across my shoulder. "Have you a nose, thinking one of them I may be?" I look slightly insulted motioning with my eyes to the carrion crows that sat perched in the trees looking over the flesh strewn ruin with glassy yellow eyes. I soften, "Anyway. There be a stream wide enough to bath in if mind you not the cold."  

[Inarath]

(Happy Birthday! biggrin )
By morning, the mud had dried, and had flaked off, leaving Ki slightly dusty when she woke up. After brushing off some of the dust, Ki heard voices at the base of the tree she was in. She recognized the voices of Athios and Kiri. Ki wasn't realy far up off of the ground, so she started climbing down the tree. When she was almost to the end of the branches, Ki wraped her tail around a branch, and hung upside down, so that her head stuck out of the tree right above Athios's head. "So were are we going now?"  

[Athios von Krauss]

"Well, I guess we should keep heading to Ahasharr. It's only three days away now." I say, flaking pieces of mud from my fullblade. "And besides, as one would say in Isha'mon, the gales have passed and the breezes will push us onwards."
As I wait for the girls' responses, I look towards the machine again.
What or who could have made this thing, and why did it attack us?  

[OokamiShiroi]

"Those breezes to new gales lead, ... but as you say." I said, covering my urge to laugh seeing Ki's cat-like ears brushing against Athio's helm. I walk over to the ruin, waving off the crows that had already descended, and grab the shoulder plate to attempt to drag it off the trail. "Appreciated, a little help might be." I hint, trying to breath through my mouth only, though I could still smell it.  

[Athios von Krauss]

"Sure, but wait for a moment. I wish to pry off a piece of this thing's armor for study." I say as I walk over to Kiri, pulling out a wide knife as I do so.
The armor is poorly attached to the body, but is incredibly strong and not bent easily. I apply an ample amount of force, and the shoulder pauldron of the machine pops off with little other effort.
I then help Kiri move the construct to the side of the road, taking care not to breathe in the nauseous stench of the decaying flesh falling off of the thing.
Just to clean off our hands, I use a little residual water and gently pressure wash our hands to remove all traces of the entrails.
"I don't want to meet another one again, for fear of the scent!" I joke and begin to chuckle.  

[Inarath]

Kiri's wet, so there must be a river or lake nearby. A river means fish, and fish means breakfast. "Kiri, where's the place you went to get clean?" Kiri points back the direction she came. "Thanks!" Ki jumped down from the tree, and ran off in that direction.  

[OokamiShiroi]

I raise my eyebrow at him, then relent and smile myself. With the help of one of my breezes I clean out the hollow and smooth the ground around it, hiding all traces of the fight, "No use there is in proclaiming a battle. Good to guessing our enemies keep, if spies they have not upon us already." I motioned with my head toward the trees, "Let us Ki go find breakfast on the road we should have."  

[Athios von Krauss]

It has been another sixteen hours on the road. The port city Ahasharr didn't seem any closer, though. Ki had thought it smart to fish while at the river, so we have extra provisions. And although still mostly strangers, I have a strange trust and confidence in both Ki and Kiri.

I put my hands behind my head and look towards the sun. It's a warm day, with a dry lingering heat in the air. It's times like these that I wish I wasn't a heavy armored warrior. My plate mail feels like it's cooking me alive.

"Hang on a second. This fiery piece of metal is not comfortable." I say, and stop to unstrap the plate mail from my body. The armor glints in the sun as I remove the torso section, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I then strap the the torso section to my pack, securing it from hitting me.

I then pull out the map and note our location and the location of Ahasharr. "According to my best guess, we're only 3 days away from the coast. If we move quickly, we can reach the town in one and a half days. It's up to you, though. I can trudge along at any pace." I say to the girls.  

[Inarath]

"Meh, I don't really care that much." said Ki.  

[OokamiShiroi]

I smile, "Of the same disposition, I am. A-traveling I have been, for quite a while, and cities little romance they have for me." I make a small gesture with my fingers sending a couple of breezes over to cool Athios as well as Ki. The breeze I had sent ahead as a forward scout whispered back to me, carrying sounds of battle and the familiar stench of rotten flesh. "There is trouble further up the road, it looks like the same things that attacked us have found another victim." I work my words into the correct syntax and start up the road again at a hurried pace, nocking an arrow on my ready bowstring.
* * *
As they crested a small hill the fight came into veiw. A man, that is to say a human man, stood at the center of a clearing just off the road, just visible between the trees, he was locked in combat with two armored beasts, so similar as to being near identical to the one the group had fought last night. A long sword flashed in the afternoon light, a weaving and flickering blur as the blade parried and struck, the man weaving and ducking to escape the blows that would have greatly injured him, as lightly armored as he was. One of the creatures fell, the blade puncturing it deeply through it's underarm joint and into it's inner workings. As the group came within bow shot the other was dispatched, this time through the back of the neck joint. The man stood for a moment above the unmoving figure, his sword tip drooping slightly until he heard the crack of stone against stone and the crunch of grass and leaves. He whirled to face the group, his sword a the ready. Eyes shining an unnatural silver were wide and dilated from the battle, his breathing was tightly controlled, but his face shone slightly from sweat and his long black hair was damp with it. His armor was minimal, matte metal vambraces covered his forearms from wrist to elbow, greaves of the same material wrapped his shins. He wore leather gauntlet-like gloves on his hands and under his dark long sleeve shirt there was a glimpse of what looked to be a type of thin chain mail. The sword he held was very long and thin, with a slight upward curve, the metal an odd bluish silver. An odachi, a form of katana equivalent to a Japanese longsword. Another sword, maybe half it's length was tucked into the sash at the man's waist.  

[Inarath]

"Wow, that was cool! How'd you do that mister?" Ki appeared right next to the man, making him jump. She smiled at him. "That's a very pretty sword." Ki tapped the side of the blade."What's it made of?"  

[OokamiShiroi]

He stiffens then seems to relax. Just slightly though as the sense was mostly due to the lifting of his battle ki. He raises an eyebrow, lowering his sword tip a couple of inches, "It is an alloy of Seabain, Steel, and small amounts of Zurite and Subterrium." After a moment's hesitation and a glance at the group he brought out a cloth from his sash and wiped the blade clean, grimacing slightly.

The man was rather handsome when taken up close, though in a rather ragged manner. His black hair was so dark as to strike up indigo highlights as the sun hit it and was braided tightly from the crown of his head to the nape of his neck where it terminated in a braid hanging down about midway across his shoulder blades. Small locks of hair had already escaped from the tumble of the battle. His face was strong, with a rather carved look to it only accentuated by the fact that the man's skin was weathered to a deep brown and the few scars that lined his cheek and crossed his nose and eyebrow.  

[Athios von Krauss]

This man that had recently annihilated two of the machines was clearly not one to be underestimated if met on the street. His renegade appearance put me off at first, but he clearly could sense no hostility from us.

I became the first to walk forward, extending my arm and hand in greeting. "I send my greetings to you, fierce warrior. I am Athios, and you have my respect as a fellow soldier." My hand, however, remained untouched. The strange human simply stared at my hand as if it were a pool of dirty water.

"Ki, Kiri, what do you make of this man? His fire is very fierce, yet his...what is the phrase? His outwardness is somewhat inward." I don't believe that the words came out right, but somehow that they got the point across. I began to contemplate what to really make of this man. Ki, however, seemed fine to be impressed. As a matter of fact, so was I.  

[OokamiShiroi]

The man let out a small breath from his nostrils and sheathed his sword, as if annoyed by Athios' last comment, talking about him as if he wasn't there. "I am Kuro." He pauses for a moment, "That is to say, My name is Kuro." He glances at women expectingly.
---
I pause, remembering someone I met along the way here. From his actions and his weapons I can tell he is of the same culture. Placing my arrow back in my quiver I bow with my hands on my thighs, "My name is Kiri." I watch the man bow back in reply, see his eyes widen slightly in surprise.