Fantasy Lost to the Tribe (M x reserved for EmerySnowe)

[Demon King Ryuki]

Cold. The air was very cold. A thick blanket of snow covered the ground, and fell from the sky so densely that it was hard to see anything, even with the keen eyes of a hawk. The wind churned up plumes of snow off of the ground as if it were the fine sand of the desert dunes. The trees that thickly lined the area were just shadows against the canvas of white.


It was this setting that served as the stage for the ending of a story. But as with all endings, this stage was also host to the beginning of another story.


A young boy fell to his knees in the snow, tears running down his face. His cries for help and fear hushed by the falling snow. In front of the boy laid a body, face down in the snow, with streams of red ribboning the snow around, and a collection of red matted snow under the body of the man. The boy fell forward on top of the body, now sobbing. The boy's ears twitched as he hears the sound of footsteps in the snow behind him.


Four figures approach from the boys back.


"Ryuki, where has your fath-" One figure stated as they approached, stopping after he could smell the scent of blood, mixed with the scent of their pack leader. "Poor boy..." The other stated as she walked up, picking up the pup, who turned toward her and buried his face in to her neck sobbing hysterically. "Dead, daddy h-he is dead, dea-" The boy's voice trailed off into more cries. She nuzzled the pup back. "What now?" another said to the bunch. The lady spoke up once more "Let's get back to the den before we discuss this. Hyoske bring our leader back with you, he deserves better than this."


-8 years later-


The sun was starting to set as the group approached their target. The young man in front flicked his head to the side, motioning for one tracker to break right, and motioned for the other to break left. The leader, Ryuki, weaved through the trees straight, following the target dead on. His swords clinked softly at his hips. He sniffed the air, shifting directions, noting that he was now closing the distance. 'Run while you can.' He thought to himself.

 

[EmerySnowe]

The young woman's eyes fluttered open, her nocturnal senses kicking in as the sun began to set. Stretching her arms, she remembered why she was in such a small cave in the first place. Looks like Corporal keeps his promises, after all. She groaned and pulled herself to her feet.


Cecelia glanced up at the sky, noting the dying daylight with relief as she crept out of her cave. Her wings fluttered at her back as she surveyed her surroundings. Only the sounds of a nearby hunting pack were noted; their prey didn't have much longer to live. She was safe and at ease, at least for now. As a precaution, she rested her hand on the sword at her hip. She never knew when she might need it.


As the hunting pack grew closer to her location, she did her best to withdraw into the shadows behind her, a silent watcher in the events to ensue. The poor prey scampered on tired limbs as they attempted to evade the wolf demons. Impossible. Cecelia doubted she could outrun them if she had been a target; her only saving grace would be her premature wings that had yet to grow. The pesky things were the very reason she was so looked down upon in her ranks. Knowing that she wasn't a target of the notorious wolf demons was yet another relief, and she heaved a rather loud sigh. That was her first mistake.

 

[Demon King Ryuki]

Sure their prey was was more agile in terms of avoiding the trees and boulders that littered the forest. But the hunters had speed and numbers on their side. Soon the hunted found themselves in between the pursuers and a cliff wall. The game was now coming to a close. The clouds cleared overhead revealing the prey to the rest of the night. Two greater white stags bucked and hopped back and forth, grunting in desperation.


Ryuki was nearing the trapped prey, and he slowed his run to a walk. His ears twitched, as he noted that both of his trackers had reached their marks. He took a shallow breath as he kept walking toward the cliff wall. "Now!" He let out, making the stags turn their head toward the voice. Two high pitched whistles of air sounded, followed by the sound of the two stags hitting the ground, dead. Ryuki raised a hand and motioned the trackers to his side. Two women who appeared to be in their mid twenties, dropped down from the trees on both sides. They both wore the traditional tight black suits worn by their tribe's archers.


"Great plan as always, Mas-" the woman with mid length white hair was cut short by a cold look shot to her by Ryuki. "Erm... I mean R-Ryuki" she corrected herself. He sighed in reply. "Don't worry about it Shiro." He said getting down, and sniffing the meat one more time just to check for sickness or poison, but deemed it safe. He grabbed the front hooves of the largest stag and started to stand. His left ear twitched and he halted, slowly lowering the stag. "Take these stags back to our den." Ryuki communicated to the other two with a growl to avoid talking. They nodded, putting their bows over their shoulders and picking up the stags and started back.


He was sure he heard something nearby, something his nose couldn't identify. Something that had to know that he and his trackers were there. He silently cursed himself for being oblivious to that, till now. He put his hands on the swords hilts, to keep them from clanging about as he slipped off toward the location of the noise.

 

[EmerySnowe]

Cecelia clamped a hand over her mouth, stilling her breaths until they were no more than the ghost of a whisper. Her pulse jumped in her throat as she pressed her back against the tree behind her. This was bad. Very, very bad. She could hear the quiet steps of one of the wolf demons. Her best bet was to stay as still as possible, to make the other believe that her sigh was simply a figment of their imagination. The young woman bit her lip to keep quiet, standing stock still as a small gust of wind blew by, carrying her scent along with it. Blast it! The wind's going to be the death of me...She thought for a moment, weighing her options. Fight or flight?


She shifted her feet, her wings fluttering behind her as she decided to make a run for it. In a moment, she was off, her legs propelling her further and further away from the cliff's edge. Her heart leaped in her chest as she swerved around trees and jumped over fallen logs. However, in her speed, her foot snagged on a loose crevice in a log, pulling her down with a sudden force. The breath left her lungs as her chest collided with the ground. She gasped like a fish out of water, her scratched hands gripping the ground as she attempted to pull herself up.


I might as well be a sitting duck! She thought bitterly, grimacing.

 

[Demon King Ryuki]

The night air felt like a brisk and moist shroud enveloping the area as he started to get closer to the source of the sound. All had fallen silent, but Ryuki knew he was on the right track, noting that the surroundings had no signs of a recent disturbance. He would search this area all night if he had too, this area was to close to his tribe's den to take ANY chances. The crickets and cicadas were the only sounds to be heard now, only accompanied by the soft sound of the river in the distance.


The wind was his ally on this hunt for the trespasser. He had just gotten a giant lead on the trespasser's whereabouts from the wind, when all at once a figure tore off past him, almost knocking him back in the escape. Ryuki smirked 'wrong move' He thought to himself as he drew one sword and took off in pursuit.


Whomever this person was, it was obviously a demon, in not just from the smell of this being, then the faster than human reactions and abilities would have given it away. He was just closing the distance, when all at once it slams down onto the forest floor, hard. He did not hesitate as he might lose this chance if he did. He stepped down on their back, noting this being to be a girl. Not letting this dissuade him, he shook it off and pressed the tip of his sword against the back of her neck, in between two vertebrae. "Don't move if you value your life..." He warned the bat demon. "Now tell me why is it you are here on the Bleeding Wolf Tribe's territory, speak now... But choose your words wisely" he spoke with a cold demeanor.

 

[EmerySnowe]

The young woman flinched when the cold, sharp tip of the sword was pressed against the back of her neck. She relaxed her muscles so that she'd be less likely to move and get her head cut off.


Cecelia clenched her eyes shut as her blood swarmed with adrenaline. She took a deep, shuddering breath as she bit her lip and thought about her options. She could either be honest and risk being killed, or lie, which, if detected, would definitely get her killed. The young woman swallowed the lump in her throat, her voice quiet when she said,


"I've been given orders by the Midnight Clan to survey the area," she replied curtly. When the wolf demon had spoken before, she knew in his voice that he had more authority than she ever would. He had every right to push the blade into her neck, and she doubted she'd be missed if he did. "I meant nothing foul by it, and I promise you the Midnight Clan intends no harm." A lie. An obvious, blatant lie that caused her pulse to leap into her throat. While her own intentions were peaceful, she could not speak for her volatile corporal.

 

[Demon King Ryuki]

All was silent around them now, the sound of the falling demon, scaring off most of the nearby crickets. He budged not his hand as the young lady spoke. He could hear all he needed to know from the beating of her heart, but just to help validate her claims, he slid the eye patch that covered his left eye up with his free hand, and opened his eye, which shone a light purple. With this eye he could gauge her story by the stability of her aura.


All was normal, untill she mentioned the part of the Midnight Clan meaning no harm. At that mention her pulse picked up a little, but her aura started to dance like wild fire. After her aura calmed down from franticly flitting about, and her heart rate slowed to near normal he continued. "So far from my analysis I have concluded that you are quick to try to deceive." He pushed the blade a little harder, a small ribbon of blood trailing from the pressure point. "I will not push you much further tonight, but at the same time I feel as though killing you would not help this situation in either direction." He slid his eyepatch back down, concealing his secret once more, and in the same motion took out a small vial from a small pocket near the neck of his shirt.


He bit the cork off, and poured the small amount of blueish fluid onto the blade, and it ran down towards the tip. "I can not allow this to happen though, and for that I am sorry." The blue fluid seemed to get absorbed into the small wound, not trailing or pooling elsewhere. The sedative would soon take effect, and then he could take her somewhere he could better learn all she knew. He didn't say anything else, he wanted her to fear the drowsy feeling, and know that there IS punishment for lies.

 

[EmerySnowe]

Cecelia tensed at the wolf demon's words; of course he sensed her lies. She held her breath as he continued to say that he wouldn't kill her, although she knew that this definitely wouldn't be the end of her interrogation. Although she winced when the tip of his blade pierced her neck, she refused to give him any other sign that she was in pain. Her grip on the cold ground beneath her tightened when she felt a liquid slither onto her neck and sleep into her bloodstream. Her throat constricted with fear as a familiar, calming sensation took over her nerves. She squirmed, trying to regain her alertness even if it meant that the blade cut just a bit deeper. Pain flared through her spine. The young woman hissed as her body refused to cooperate and collapsed, beginning to lose her sense of touch.


"Please..." she croaked, her mouth growing fuzzy. Please what? No matter what she said, the wolf demon would take her captive and interrogate her. "Just...Don't-" Her tongue became numb in her mouth, choking out whatever words she was about to say. She stared blankly in front of her and waited for darkness to swallow her vision and take her thoughts away.

 

[Demon King Ryuki]

His ears picked up that her pulse had slowed, and he sighed from the stress of this current situation. "I hope that this won't come back to bite me..." He muttered to himself, pulling his sword up, and then using it to cut off a few lengths of cloth from his shirt, which he then used to bind her and blindfold her. He sheathed his sword, then bending his knees he scooped up the girl, and started off toward his den.


It wasn't much later, that he was approaching the safety of his Tribe's den. Unlike his usual return experience he was not greeted by his Tribesmen, but instead was met with inquiring and curious glances. The latch locking door shut as he stepped down into the den, then made his way toward his room, the Tribe Leader's room.


He lay her down on the cot, and returned with a cloth and cleaned off her hands and face, tending to the scratches from her falling. Ryuki then gently cleaned the wound on her neck, and made sure it was properly bandaged. He then made sure that she was properly tied to a makeshift securement latch, checking twice for good measure.


'Now I just have to wait till she wakes up...' He thought to himself, crossing to the far corner of the room. He took off his sword belts, and unsheathed his left sword, and started polishing the blade.

 

[EmerySnowe]

Cecelia's sleep was dreamless, a simple, dark void that covered her mind until she awoke. However, when she opened her eyes, the darkness still remained. An itchy feeling covered her eyes. When she tried to raise her hands to her head, she found that her wrists were bound together by a cloth. So were her ankles. Still slightly sedated from whatever had been in the liquid, she wasn't able to break free from these bonds.


"Hello?" she called out, testing her voice as she was once more able to speak. Her throat was raw, her nerves crawling anxiously as she thought about her situation. How was she supposed to get out alive? The wolf demon was obviously able to sense any dishonesty, and the truth would almost certainly get her killed. Abandoning the corporal would be high treason. "Is...anyone here?"