The Living Damsels

[Sakura]

Spoiler

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Jasper, a young prince of about 18 or so was wandering through the forests, which were decorated by trees and such. He was in his human form, and had a small crown perched on his head, this, if you hadn't already guessed marked that he came from a very important family, not any old family, a royal one. He sat down by a small stream for a rest as he stares out into the open. So far, there had been no wars going on at the moment, and all was peaceful. For now at least.

 

[Pandaku]

Staring into the burning fire that rested in the center of his rather large wooden hut, Chua watched as the red and blue of the flame danced with one another in an elegant yet dangerous waltz. He had been looking at it for quite some time while waiting for the chieftain, his father, who had called a meeting in his home about the rivalry between the northern wolf pack. In times of peace like these, meetings like these were quite rare not like those of the past. With a sudden swish of his tarp, he gaze was taken away from the beautiful fire and onto the old man with the aura of a king that entered his domain.


Standing up from his position, he lowered his head to form a bow," Welcome Chief Amitola." he said in a rather formal tone, his father letting out a deep chuckle that would even cause the bravest of wolves to tremble underneath it's strength.


"My son, no need for all these formalities. Just call me Papa like you used to." he answered, referring to the time when he was only 5 and "papa" was the only word he could pronounce with ease. Really, the thought itself was just embarrassing for him to think about, but he somehow manage to keep himself expressionless. Although his eyes truly revealed how he felt as he averted his gaze to a nearby painting of one of his ancestors leading their tribe off to battle.


"Haha that’s my son! Now onto the matters at hand. It seems like the Northern tribe is planning on seizing a village of the Owl near the border." his father stated, his voice going from cheerful to serious in an instant. Chua listened while other older members came in sitting around the fire one by one. Their tattoo's signifying their rank and many of them also bared the marital mark, a custom that the tribe kept going for centuries when two members were engaged to one another and eventually married. Chua had his own markings as well that rested on his arm, the dark brown symbols matching his own dark complexion. This showed that he was indeed the child of the current Chieftain and the also the heir of his clan, but unlike the others he did not bare the marital mark for his was still "alone" even at the age of 21. Once everyone was seated, Chua took a seat near his father's feet at the front of the now larger flame, his father settling himself down, another old tribal tradition that had made it thus far.


"How are we to combat this threat Chieftain?" one of the older men inquired.


"I say we kill those pretentious mongrels and have them for supper." another man answered, his eyes burning with the desire to kill those wretched northerners. The silver eyed man recognized him to be Almo, one of his father's most trusted warriors who also bore the greatest hatred towards the Northern clan for the murder of his wife and children.


"Almo you know this cannot be so. Something like that would endanger the villages in the North even further. You should know better than anyone how it is to lose someone." his father commented, silencing the bulky man who, in response, growled and folded his arms.


"Are we sure this information is true? There haven't been any recent wars between us and them." Chua announced, focusing on the matter at hand.


"I am not sure if this information is true, but it comes from one of the members of the Owl village." his father answered rubbing his thick gray beard.


"I think we should verify this information, before acting. There are some members of the tribe who yearn for the days of war and will go through any length to have it happen once again." he said. Just as he was about to continue he was cut off by a rather angry Almo.


"What if it's true! Do we just sit here and wait until the villagers of the Owl are slaughtered? Women raped and children sold off for money? The time to act is now! I will not wait for them to-" he yelled before being interrupted by an angry Chua who peered through him with silver eyes.


"Silence! Do you know what war brings? Do you not remember the mutilated warriors that fell beside you? The mothers who were left to care for their children alone unaware that their lover has been taken away from them. Do you not remember the children left on the battlefield, starved and alone?! Use your brain for once, you are not the only one who lost someone important to them!" he paused remembering the sight of his mother taking a blow from a northern solider that was meant for him with her lifeless body on top of his own . He then continued," War should be avoided at all cost. No one deserves to live such a life. NO ONE!" he spoke, Almo now silent although there was still a bit of defiance.


"Now, I volunteer myself to find out if this information holds truth. Is that okay with you father?" he asked, his father smiling at him simply nodding to his request. "If that is all, I shall go immediately. May I take leave?" he questioned, his father waved his hand signaling him to go. With that, the Chieftain's son bowed down to the Chief and walked out his home and into the light of the morning sun.


The village of Owl was not too far away from the mainland, so he only took a few things including a few packages of food as well as the bone knife he was gifted by his father upon reaching manhood. Once finish, he left the village deeming that his human form was enough for the trip, and although his wolfen form was also faster he couldn't fight properly in it. Entering the forest, he traveled for a long distance avoiding branches quickly making his was closer and closer to his destination. After walking for an hour or two he heard the sound of a river flowing thinking that he should take this time to stop for a drink before moving forward. Even though he was close, the village was still a good 2 hours journey away and him dropping from dehydration would not be a good look for the son of the Chief.


As he approached the stream, his nose, although not as good as in his wolfen form, caught the scent of an unfamiliar being. He knew of all the animal’s scents living here and that scent belong to none of them. No. It smelled of a great wind, but oddly had a warmth to it that was inexplicable. Taking caution, he used the skills he had learned as a child and hid his presence until he could get a clear view of the unknown creature. What he saw was something he had not expected to see. It was a male with hair as yellow as the light of the sun, donning a crown on his head that looked quite familiar to him, but seem to elude his thoughts. The color of his skin was pale, nothing like any of the members of his clan who skin was tanned and darken.


Suddenly he realized that he was not a member of his clan at all, in fact he was a Northerner, and from the looks of the ornament on his head not a normal one either. His pupils dilated as he dropped his bag pulling out the bone dagger he had brought along with him, and as quickly as he unsheathed it he lunged at his unsuspecting prey.


"What are you doing here?!" he yelled, his dagger at the Northerners throat ready to slit it if he heard something that seemed suspicious. Could his presence possible mean that the information gathered was correct, and the North was planning on attack? That would explain why the boy was here in the first place knowing the history between the two clans it would seem unlikely that one would just walk into enemy territory. Or could it? The only liable explanation was that he was a spy and that the North was indeed planning something, but only his answer would tell.


(Sorry it took so long, today I'm totally free. Also image of both human and wolf form is on the character thingy. Hope this is okay.