Long ago, an artifact now known as the Turobian King was crafted into this world. The Turobian King is a simple statue of a once powerful ruler named Aca-Tura who ruled the lands. Aca-Tura ruled with such power and authority that anyone who dared defied him suffered a wrath like no other. He punished people by ripping them to shreds with his own magic, took control of their minds and made them pull their own hearts out, and the worst was having their loved ones killed in front of them while Aca-Tura ate their hearts on a platter. The ruler's magic was demonic and unheard of and was unchallenged for decades.
One day a mighty being named, Ka'Shiro, came across the lands to challenge Aca-Tura that would decide the fate of Turobian. Feeling confident he wouldn't lose, Aca-Tura accepted in a heart beat. Ka'Shiro unveiled something unheard of to the ruler, a cross. This caused Aca-Tura to be paralyzed for a few moments, giving the being enough time to pull out a statue that was crafted out of pure gold. Ka'Shiro begin to chant an incantation that slowly pulled Aca-Tura into the statue, causing the shape to change to him. Though Aca-Tura never truly died, he was imprisoned within the statue and just to make sure he could never be freed, Ka'Shiro broke both the arms off the statue and took them with him back from whence he came.
Over the years, many people have touched and taken the Turobian King from its original resting place and left it many different places. Along with the Turobian King, the arm fragments were hidden somewhere in the world so that they would never be found and Aca-Tura would never see the light of day again. Legend has it, that if the two arms were reunited with the base..Aca-Tura would be free once again. However, many people have searched to find the Turobian King to merchant it for the money...While one man searches to find out if the legend is true..
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Darion Barnes, an explorer who was no stranger to walking endless miles to satisfy his curiosity. He sat within the tavern rubbing his chin while looking down at the scroll with the legend of the Turobian Sultan, trying to get an idea where he should start on this journey. Perhaps finding the base? No..It's probably better to start with the arms and then the base. Darion was a bit short when it came to mysteries without any real clues. Slamming his hand on the table, twiddling his fingers at a rough pace while his other hand was propped up to his cheek. A heavy sigh of frustration escaped.
"Where the hell did that damn being go with the fragments?...Maybe I should head towards Turobian ruins and see if there's any clues.."
He rolled up the scroll on the table and placed it in his sack. Standing up while grabbing his trusty spear, leaving his pay on the table. The other men within the tavern began to speak behind Darion's back about how he was a fool for trying to find the fragments. He didn't care, he was going to search the end of the world if he had to. Opening the door to the outside, he looked towards the sign that pointed travelers to different places. From what Darion knew, he was going to have to head West; which was the way no traveler ever came from or dared went down, until today. Darion wasn't afraid of anything, even death itself. If he was going to die it would be searching for something he wanted to find.
"Left! Left, Dust, left!"Kari yelled out. The snow white mare whinnied and turned left in compliance. Kari shut one eye, holding her bow out with her arm outstretched. Her vision was sketchy due to the bumpy ride atop of the horse, but she did the best she could to remain on target with the large pear dangling helplessly from a far off branch.
"Only got one shot at this, Dust. Make it count."she said softly while her tongue touched the tip of her upper lip in concentration. She normally didn't have to do much but shoot, however riding on Stardust and focusing at the distanced target was a trial indeed. Kari's light tan hair whipped out of her face as Dust's footsteps continued to troud beneath the soft grass before...
SSSPP!
The arrow landed centimeters away from the pear. Kari's face fell in disappointment. Even Stardust neighed in an upset manor, trotting back towards the shop on her own. She didn't say anything as she tucked a strand of hair from her face. Normally, she could pinpoint and shoot anything from that radius. The thrill inside of her was just beginning to die down.
It's because of the stupid shop. I spend more time there than I do where I belong. How can I defend myself if I'm too busy waxing bows--
"KARI!"
Kari shut on eye when she heard the man's voice come from the inside of the shop. She knew he'd travel towards the stable so she tied Dust to the pole at the front entrance instead. Reaching into her pouch on her left hip, she extracted bits of an apple, holding them in her palm and up to the horse's nose. Dust dove her lips into her hand while Kari rubbed her mane with her free one.
"If I'm not back in an hour, Bastion has killed me."she said, winking and walking as slowly as possible into the shop, mentally preparing herself for the fiasco to come.
Darion began his way down the West path. From what he heard around, the path was supposed to be filled with thieves, bears, and monsters. Sounded like a walk in the park to him to be honest. Darion was used to fighting things that were larger and quicker than him. He has trained with his spear for most of his life knowing more techniques and styles than most of the warriors he ran into..However, Darion usually avoided confrontation when necessary.
"Let's see here.."
He reached into his sack to pull out a map. According to it, it was going to take him a few days of traveling by foot to get to the Turobian ruins. A slight frown formed on his face at the thought of stopping to rest. Surely there was something he could to do help lessen the time it was going to take...But what? Darion was so caught up in his own thoughts he didn't realize he was approaching what seemed to be a shop with a horse stabled outside.
Looked rather convenient that there was horse right here when he needed one, but most likely it belonged to someone else. No way to know unless he found out how the horse would respond to his presence. Darion cautiously moved towards the horse, but also peeked inside the shop to see if anyone was right there...Nope, no one. Turning his attention back to the horse, he noticed that the animal was alerted and stepped away from him.
"Easy..I'm not going to hurt you.."
Darion could tell that the horse was scared, no matter how careful he was to try and get closer. And at any moment things could easily..
Bastion, was sat hunched next to a string spinner, like he always was. Sat in the chair, his old, and wrinkled hands guided the various strands of thread as they were fed into the spinning machine, and coiled along a copper spool. The old man knew his craft, and it seemed it was about all he knew. He'd provided for Kari almost all her life, though he was rather rough with words. He wasn't a cruel, or mean man, he just never quite knew how to act with children, or those younger than himself... which was nearly everyone due to him surpassing the grand old age of seventy or so... he'd simply lost track of his birthdays. Hearing the door open, he looked over his shoulder seeing Kari walking inside.
"Been fooling around again I see... you know I've got one last batch of bows to make before next week, and without it we'll probably go hungry again." The truth being that he'd go hungry. Bastion had always placed food on the girl's plate before his own.
Kari grumbled and made her way to a stack of bows that were laying towards the back of the shop. Bastion wasn't going to measure any recurves. Hell, Bastion wasn't going to do anything if he had to! Yukari was the one to do most of the business in the shop anyway. While thinking of the shop, she started to wonder why it was still standing. By the way the village was moving, bows were selling ever so slowly. Yukari wasn't so surprised either.
"Yes, sir."she said. She didn't want to fight with the old man today. Her mood was already sunken by her performance in the meadow. If she said anything more, the two of them might have gotten into an argument. Kari was just about to pick up a bow before she heard a distant neigh from outside. Her face instantly dropped, heart pounding rather harder than the norm. Wasting not one second, Kari snatched her bow tightly in her hand, ignoring Bastion's calling, before storming directly out of the door. Her arrow was poised at the ready, arm retracting while the tip of the spear aimed directly at the hooded figure.
"Don't move."she said, stern enough to be heard from the distance between the two.
Darion did his best to try and calm the horse down before someone confronted him. Damn it, how did these sort of things always happen to him? Something was always going wrong that made situations worse for him. He looked around to see if there was any place he could possibly hide if someone from within the shop came out. No where..Damn it. Alright, maybe the horse would calm down in a moment or two? Nope, of course it wouldn't. The horse was up on it's hind legs neighing as loudly as it possibly could. There was no way Darion was going to be able to calm it down. Then he thought it might be a wise idea to try and run, but was interrupted by..
"Don't move."
And not a single one of his muscles, fingers, or lips moved when he heard that. Darion's heart began to pound a bit with nervousness, mainly because he couldn't turn around to see who or what was threatening him, nor could he take hold of his spear and defend himself. He was a sitting duck. From the sound of the voice, he could tell it belonged to a woman, but he was not prepared to underestimate her by any means. Women in these parts were exceptionally tough and when they spoke, most men listened; including Darion. The best course of action for him right now was to remain perfectly still until she told him otherwise.
"I take it this horse belongs to you..Sorry..I thought it was just up for grabs..I'm in a bit of rush."
He spoke confidently and gentle. Hopefully she wouldn't go off and shoot him with hearing his reasons for trying to take her horse. Even though his heart was beating with a hint of fright, a strange adrenaline surged through his body at the same time. These were the kind of moments Darion lived and thrived off of in a sense. His cheeks rose up slowly while his eyes closed off anything in sight, just waiting to see how the woman was going to respond.
Her command did the trick. The hooded man neither moved nor uttered one sound when her order rang true. Stardust had became slightly more arrogant, knowing that his master was with her and that if she felt the need to attack, he would be right behind her heels. Kari didn't have that mal-intent however. Unless Stardust were harmed in any sort of way, she just wasn't going to shoot willy-nilly at just anybody who walked up to the shop. It was a shop, of course. For all she knew, he could have been a customer! What kind of customer decides to mess with a horse that is clearly tied up to a pole at the entrance, though? Kari lowered her eyes to an even more menacing glare, even though the man was not looking at her.
"You thought a horse...tied up...was for grabs?" Her eyebrow arched up curiously at how...ridiculous his reason sounded. The bad thing was, she figured it wasn't a lie and he really did think Dust was just lying there for the taking. If so...then Kari had no other choice but to deem the man insane. She had no other choice but to lower her bow in thoughts of shooting a man that was insane. Dust seemed to think the same thing, for her hooves trampled the ground lightly, snorting and turning his long snout away in disgust.
"Who are you? What reason do you have here?"she asked, not even bothering to wait for the response to her previous question. A gust of wind blew trails of her tan hair on her shoulders while her white bow swayed in place. The bow was secured for the most part. Kari reminded herself everyday that the wind was a malicious element, threatening to take away anything that had no weight to it. Her bow was important to her for more reasons than one...
A snort from Dust brought her back into the present, eyes directly bored into the hooded man's visage and awaiting his crack-pot answer, as such insane people would yield.
Darion was just waiting for the moment where the woman would shoot him and end his journey right then and there. Not being able to see when she was going to end him was what really added some suspense to the moment for him. His heart was pounding fast, while a trickle of sweat came sliding down the side of his face. But something wasn't right..Why didn't his life flash before his eyes? That's how the other times he was close to death went..His memories would flash before his eyes. Darion opened his eyes slowly. He saw that the horse had calmed down and was more defensive, as if the woman's presence spark a light inside it's body.
That wasn't one his brighter responses..Darion seemed to come up with some odd sounding reasons. but, before he could answer the first question she asked, another was launched right at him. Darion turned his head slightly to eye her within the corner of his own eye. She lowered her bow but still had it armed and ready just in case he was going to pull anything. Darion rotated himself so he was facing her, a light bow following his motion.
"I am Darion Barnes, and like I said I thought the horse was just here, however..I wanted to be sure, so I approached it. I was going take the horse so my trip wouldn't be completely on foot. My destination right now is to the Turobian ruins to search for clues to find one of the fragments for the Turobian King."
Just then, a thought came to mind..This woman could be of some use on his journey towards the Turobian ruins and the King itself, or she knew someone who did. With any luck she would be more focused on any knowledge she possibly had than thinking of how good her arrow would look sticking out his chest. From what Darion could see and tell by how she presented herself she was an adventurer like him in a sort and wouldn't mind lending him a hand..
"Do you by any chance have any sort of information, rumors, or know anyone that could help me out?"
To say the least, Kari was absolutely lost. Right when she asked the man a simple question, he gave a her a long and elaborate answer. Of course, it's what she should've expected when asking a question, yet still, Kari didn't expect it to come out so smoothly. For starters, when he turned around to grace her with his expression, he neither looked afraid or shocked at all to find that a girl was aiming an arrow directly between his brow. He merely bowed and answered her...honestly she assumed. A wrinkle was caught on the bridge of her nose when he described what he called the Turobian King...something she had never heard of a day in her life. The name couldn't even settle right in her head while Darion, on the other hand, looked hopeful when he described his quest.
Oh, she hated bursting bubbles.
"....No. I don't what that is. This is a bow shop, strictly for archery, which I suppose you don't do."she added, nodding towards the spear. Dust had been turning his head way this and that as the conversation went on. The poor mammal was confused as to why she didn't just end the guy's life then and there. No matter his quest was and how justified he felt in it, he still had the intentions of stealing Dust whether he knew it was owned or not. Dust meant more to her than anything else she had ever had...even Bastion! The man wasn't even her real father! He was a grumpy old man who took her in when she was a child abandoned in a market cart. Kari brought her golden eyes up to him, still keeping a firm grip on her bow, but lowering it to his chest instead of his head.
"I can't help you. I have no idea what you're talking about. Now please, take your leave."she said, voice strong and clear.
A slight frown formed on Darion's face accompanied by a sigh. Just when he thought he there was a possible way to make the journey easier, he was quickly shut down. She was right, he was no sort of archer, in fact, he was pure fighter. Darion loved getting close and personal when he was fighting, just so he could instill fear and see his opponent shake before him. So this was definitely not the shop for him to be at...especially to progress on his quest.
"Ah..I see..Well thank you anyway..And sorry once again..I'll be off now."
Darion nodded at the woman, when he turned back to almost come face to face with the horse that was now closer. He halted quickly before side-stepping and walking a few steps away from the store. Patting himself to make sure he didn't drop anything important or belonged to him...Nope he was good. Well, Darion didn't have any sort of lead and was still at square one. Looking straight down the path at overlapping hills and trees, Darion sighed heavily and reached into his sack for the map to the Turobian ruins. Ugh..It was still quite a long way to go. He stood in place for a long time, tracing his index finger along different routes to see if there was possibly a quicker way to go.
"Maybe if I cut through the forest I'll end up only a mile or so away from the ruins..Though in the depths of that trunk maze there are said to be dangers.."
It sounded like a true challenge, and a way to test himself to see if he could in fact go through and find the lost arnaments.
Kari was actually looking forward to shooting the guy dead, then and there. Half of it was compensation for missing with the pear on her first try of riding on the back of Dust. She knew it would have been hard to hit a moving target, but found out soon enough that it would be even harder to shoot something while she was doing the moving. Dust was not a very comfy ride through the woods, but that was no excuse for why she missed. She was supposed to be a top archer; a bulls-eye. That miss should not have been a miss...No miss should ever be a miss! She burrowed her eyes at the target that stood unmoving in front of her, looking over some sort of map. Yukari had a clear shot, clear as a cloudless day.
He did try to harm Dust. No one harms Stardust. No one...
"Though in the depths of that trunk maze there are said to be dangers.."
Danger? That caught her attention. For a second or two, even Dust's ears perked up at the word. It was such an unfamiliar word used around those parts, danger. The tiny shop was lodged some ways behind a very peaceful and care-free village. There were little pillages, murders, rapes, kidnappings, theft, and any other crimes punishable by law or battle. Not that those were good things, it's just...what is an archer to do if there is no need for her skills? The only thing she could do with her skills was hunt food. Easy food. Kari lowered bow without even noticing, taking a few steps toward Darion.
"....A trunk maze?" she questioned, trying to sound more snotty than really really really interested in said dangers. Even Dust played the part, snorting and turning his long head away, but still managing to keep an eye on the map in interest.
Darion jumped a bit at the sound of the woman's voice once again, not hearing her step closer to him. Darion didn't bother to turn around to look at her..Why? The way she responded to his statement was rather snobbish. However, what if she was secretly interested? Turning his head a little bit so he could peek at her in the corner of his eye. She wasn't that far away but her attention definitely was looking at in his direction, maybe the map he held? Darion wondered..
"Yeah..A trunk maze..That's what we call the forests where I'm from.."
Shifting himself while hiding the map from her eyes. "Plus..The folks back at the tavern said that the forest was full of creatures and horrors."
He then realized that she was just pushing him off a few moments ago..Why the sudden change? After all, Darion did try to take her horse and sort of made up a lame excuse as to why he did so. Her actions were puzzling, yet he surely had his own questionable actions. Darion shook his head and rubbed his chin before returning his gaze to the map, rising up to stare out at the path ahead. One thing was certain, he wasn't sure of the dangers that were lying ahead and it would be foolish to say he could single handedly fight everything he encounters. Darion wondered if this woman would be willing to accompany him, judging by the look of her she seemed to be an exceptional archer and that usually comes with a keen eye; which Darion could use to help locate the fragments.
"I know we didn't start out on the right foot..But, how would you like join me on this journey? I'm sure I'm going to need some help, Miss...?"
To continue on not knowing her name and calling her 'Miss' and 'You' would be rude, hopefully she would tell her name and become less hostile towards him.
Kari listened to him while he explained something most fascinating. She was right. He was talking about dangers and such. The trunk maze he talked about was a forest filled with demons and the former! Kari's golden eyes widened only a slight, but not too much to where he could see her interest as clearly as the sun above them. He told tale of a very intriguing adventure, one that she hadn't been on in weeks upon end! The last 'adventure' she had went on was when the wild boar she and Dust chased after one mid-summer's day ran directly into a pack of wolves. She could remember seeing the wolves immediately mark the boar as their prey, but Dust and Kari had gotten there first.
Wolves were not so good against arrows, that much was true.
"My name is Yukari. Just Yukari."she said, ignoring his question about traveling with him. The offer was tempting...too tempting. He first talked about demons and horrors in his quest and now he suddenly wished for her to join him? A wisp of wind blew a lock of her hair across the bridge of her nose, waking her up and pulling her back into reality. Kari had to think logically about what he was really asking for here. Was he asking for a warrior? An archer to take down his foes and make his quest easier? Was it a secret trap to kill her and steal Dust like she thought he intended to do? Did he plan to use her keen eye sight (not that he knew she had it, yes?) to find the artifacts and abandon her to be left and taken by said horrors?
Or did he really seek assistance?
Kari opened her mouth to answer him, and suddenly caught the look of interest and fascination his eyes. Her mouth hung open for a second. Never before had she seen such excitement since her days as a child! This Darion was serious about her joining his quest! Kari forced her mouth to a close, chewing on her lip, until, finally, she completely lowered her bow.
"I...Yes. If it is to breathe life into my lungs, then I oblige. Please allow me a moment or two to gather my things and speak with...someone. Oh, and don't touch Stardust. He is quick tempered."she added with challenging smile. Dust responded by kicking up dirth beneath his hooves, snorting loudly through his nose in the same challenge.
Huh, what an interesting name. Darion was used to unusual names, but her name was one that stuck out surely. It made him curious to know how she was given the name; if there was a reason behind it. Darion took notice to how she became more passive towards him. Perhaps his question was a bit too soon? Or not expecting it? But the thought of having some company along his journey made him feel better about the entire trip. On the other hand, Darion has never traveled with anyone before in his entire life. He was always the one to be solo and fight through challenges relying on his spirit and mind to keep him out of trouble. Sure there were times where he just cut it close to losing an arm or leg, but those were the moments that got the adrenaline going.
"Of course, take your time and do what you need to. I'll..wait here."
Darion hesitated a bit with words, taking notice to how Stardust responded to Yakuri's statement. Stepping back a bit when he heard the rather loud snort. The thought of the horse attacking him made him feel unpleasant. Being kicked or stomped by the muscular legs of the horse would surely leave him with broken ribs or sort. He could just hear the townsfolk now..There lies Darion..Beaten up by a horse...How embarrassing.
So, now it was just a matter of waiting on Yukari to prepare herself for the journey and talk to whomever. Darion cupped his hand over his eyes to block out the sun; even though he was wearing a hood. In the distance he could see the forest that they would seen be going through. Doesn't look that bad... He thought, but anything could be guessed from this far. Darion overall felt scared yet excited to embark. This adventure was going to be epic for both of them..He could feel it.
"I will be done packing shortly."she called out. With her footsteps finally dying out, Kari reached her room and made her way to the drawer with all of her clothes. She figured she'd pack lightly, only bringing clothes like the one she had on at the moment. Being an archer meant that you can not be weighed down by too much fabric. Along with her outfits she packed her hair brush, quiver of arrows, and her dagger that she always kept at her side. Looking down a the opened bag, she only hoped the trip wasn't long. She didn't want to be with that weird Darion guy for too long.
Yukari made her way to the stable and untied Stardust's supplies and carried them to the entrance of road towards Darion, who hadn't moved an inch, it seemed. When she made it close to him, she realized the intense difference in height between the two of them. She had to bend her head back a slight to kook into the man's eyes. They were such a brilliant color of brown that Kari had to avert her eyes as quickly as she looked at him. Not to mention that she wasn't the staring type. Never have been. Why was she doing it now?
Stardust whinnied and prodded on the ground in impatience. Kari looked over to the large white horse and tugged once on the reign in her hand.
"Okay okay, we're leaving."she said and stood next to Darion, waiting for him to lead her off into the unknown. Don't worry, Bastion. I'll be back and everything will be normal again. It hurt having her sneak past the old man in order to leave. If Bastion knew that she were leaving, he may have killed both she and Darion then and there, if only it meant Kari did not leave. Why was that, she had never known, but it was too late. Darion had the lead.
Darion had his arms folded with his arms shut waiting patiently. She was taking her time, which was fine with him, most likely she was making sure she had everything and did what she needed to. Darion couldn't remember how long it took him to leave home when he first set off on an adventure. He spent too much time worrying if he had everything and if he was going have enough. Before he continue his flashback he heard the sounds of soft steps, he looked over to see Yukari finally walking out of the building carrying her bag. As she closed in distance, he noticed that he had to tilt his head down to be able to meet his face with her own. Catching quick glance into her eyes, only to have it slip by. "Let's move then."
He began to walk down the path, but almost falling because his leg had fallen asleep.
Quickly, he balanced himself out..Close one.
He looked back at Yukari and Stardust, they probably noticed that..No big deal! Nope not at all! Just keep going and not make a scene.
The trail started off beautiful and full of life. Most of the view was just some houses in the distance with trees and hills in the background; A real typical country side look. There folks out and around, tending to the everyday chores such as, raking weeds, harvesting crops, and just enjoying the nice weather. As the path continues, the activity slows down, and the color of the land and hills begins to fade off as the forest that Darion laid eyes upon back at the archery shop, was now getting closer. The sky began to turn a dark shade of gray, and the area was almost nearly monochrome. The path that broke through the forest was also not as neat as rest of the trail. The sight of the trail eventually faded into darkness surrounded by no signs of people. Surely such a dark place had inhabitants, but..What kind? Not the kind that were going to come out and welcome people, no, the kind of life that would cause trouble or worse..Ending journeys.
"Well..This seemed much more friendly from the shop.."
Darion turned his head looking around at the entrance to the forest.
There was no other way in than the broken trail, every other way was blocked off with large spikes and metal posts.
There had to be a reason why this was the only way through.. As if someone had planned this..
"Guess we have no other choice.." Darion rotated back towards Yukari. "Might want to have your bow ready just incase." If this was in fact planned by someone..he or she knew that the two were here already.
Yukari and Dust exchanged knowing looks. It was really hard not to notice how strange and peculiar that guy was. He never held eye contact for long, tripped over what seemed to be nothing but thin air, and even walked funny. Kari first thought it was because of the spear, but she realized that spears were not that heavy, and he looked to be strong enough to hold a spear and walk with it without falling off balance. However, Kari found her eyes wavering down to his feet as he stepped forward and slightly to the side. What a strange way of walking. Dust didn't seem to notice or care for that matter. He was just happy that he wasn't being ridden on.
The road from her shop was a long one in more ways than one. Psychologically, it was getting to her. Bastion had told her to never stray far from the shop because there were dangers lurking in nearby shadows, he would always tell her. If that warning was supposed to send her into some mini state of fear and cautiousness, it failed at it. The unknown only made Kari more curious to know what really lurked in those shadows she heard so much about. The trail leading away from the village, lively and full of people, started to blanket into a strange and ominous dark, as if they had just stepped out of the day and into the night.
Kari lifted her nose up in curiosity at the darkening forest the 3 of them had stumbled upon. Whatever sounds and frolicking the animals did here before were long gone and replaced by hidden insects and other mysterious rustlings. Dust started to get restless when Darion admitted that that they had no other choice but to venture into that section of the woods.
"Are you...sure about this?"she said, frowning, a wrinkle formed on the side of her lip. Her bow was in perfect range for her to snatch from her back, aiming wherever it needed to be aimed...but that would not have been the best. Dust got very defensive if Kari's life was in danger of any sort. The last thing she wanted to do was rile up her horse unintentionally by becoming paranoid. Instead, she stood still looking directly at Darion, expression serious with tiny tinges of excitement in her eyes.
"If anything comes, I'll see it first, believe me. I know this for a fac--" Her sentence was cut off by a snapping branch behind Darion. Kari's eyes lowered as her hand shot for her bow. This time Dust reacted just as quick, tramping his feet against the ground threateningly. Whatever made the sound, it wasn't scared of a horse or a pro-archer. Good. She needed some action.
"No, I'm not sure about this, but it's the only way we've go--"
Quickly getting cut off by the branch snapping behind him. Darion responded by leaping forward and reaching behind to grab his spear, unsheathe it, and take a firm hold of it. His eyes shifted back and forth, not ready to look behind him just yet. The possibilities of what was lurking behind or around the group were endless. It was time to see what they were up against, as he turned back to look to Yukari and Dust, making sure they were unharmed. Nothing was there, it was safe to move around hopefully. yet, it was obvious they were not alone.
Darion exhaled softly, then took a few cautious steps forward, just to make sure nothing was waiting to pounce. Everything was still clear, beckoning Kari and Dust to him. It was time to keep going, this distraction kept things a halt for a bit too long. Taking a few more steps, then resuming his walking from before. He heard sounds of distant rustling though..Was it?..His mind playing tricks on him? Like, he wanted to believe something was really following them. Louder and louder the rustling got..Darion was sure it wasn't his imagination.
Suddenly, the rustling came from all around. Darion stopped and glanced everywhere, just waiting for the first monster to reveal itself. Pointing his spear at one of the shrubs, as a strange four legged monster crawled out. The beast had four toes with sharp nails for each toe. The body had a somewhat slender figure with quills stuck out of the back that was pure skin, leading to the face of the beast which was the ugliest thing ever. On the face, the teeth were jagged and could be seen all the time. yet, the nose resembled that of a hound, leading up to the eyes that were pitch black.
"Dark-hounds..Savage predators of the forest, that seek fresh meat and prefer to catch their meals."
The hounds began to crawls out of the bushes, about nine of them total. Growling and panting hungrily.
"Well, I'm certainly glad you know your animals..."she murmured, pointing her bow this way and tat. The first and most exceedingly noticeable thing she realized about the hounds was the smell. Horrible. Putrid. It hit her senses like a brick flying directly to her nose. If Kari wasn't holding her bow so firmly, she would have slapped a hand over her nose just to stop the smell from going any further in her body. If it got the chance to waft up into her brain, she may have gone crazy with stupidity and confusion. The smell was enough to be toxic and dangerous if inhaled for long. Kari made a face but was not going to let her bow go for the life of her. The smell would just have to do.
Secondly, the hounds didn't just trot out of the bushes like dogs or wolves would do. They slithered. Kari's spine clanged against each of the bones in her back at the sound. Imagine an egg dripping down onto the floor and seeing the grotesque faces of the dark-hounds. Yukari had never seen anything like the beasts before, but when Darion called them by name, she suddenly felt a lot more secure than she had before. Darion knew what the things were which meant he had a plan...yes?
Dust was taking it just as bad as the other two. His mind was racing at 3 seconds per blink of his large black eyes. Stardust was the most noticeable thing in the vicinity due to his beautiful blanket of white fur. A hound or two snapped its jaws at horse, beckoning for the horse to do something hasty. Stardust was not that dense and returned the instigating snaps with a loud whinny. Kari's beige eyes shot to the left at a dark-hound who was advancing far too quickly for her liking. In one simple and slender motion, the girl pulled her index, middle and thumb finger on the string, holding firmly to the arrow before flinging it forward.
The arrow paled the dark-hound in the knee...and the others attacked in the same second.
"I've been around to learn a thing 'r two.."
The stench of the beasts caused Darion to cover his nose for a few moments. Agh.. It was horrible..Just when the tip of the spear dropped to the ground. One of the hounds tackled him to his back, forcing Darion to be face to face with it. The hound was trying it's best to bite at him, the inside of the monster's mouth was even worse up close. The drool from its mouth landing on his neck..UGH! Disgusting! He grunted placing his hands up to the mouth of the hound to keep it at bay. Most people would panic in situations like this, seeing death nearly an inch away from them, Darion didn't. He was used to being in predicaments and thrived off the adrenaline. Though it had admirable strength, Darion was stronger and was able to toss the beast aside, and recover his fallen spear.
"All this..Just to find the arms.."
The hound quickly recovered and lunged forward at Darion, hoping to get the upper hand. But, Darion was quick to respond by thrusting the spear through the hound's stomach, as it yelped in pain, blood was pouring out all over him and the ground, but the dog finally passed out. The other hounds that weren't occupied with Kari and Dust, crawled over to him, just waiting to get their turn. A challenge at last, some action and excitement, which excited Darion as he pointed the head of the spear at each one of them, as they responded with snarls and snaps. He entered a state of mind that was one of intense focus and the spirit of the fighter within him emerging. Darion's eyes narrowed on the beast ahead of him that was growling louder than the others and was going to to be the one to attack..Sure enough, the hound did in fact sprint towards him, with the others following suit.
Swwwp! Swwwp! Ssssswp! God, Kari loved that sound.
It was the sound of a forced and powerful fling of an arrow from her long and beautiful bow into hound after hound, sometimes the same ones. Surprsingly enough, Kari could not believe the beasts were falling to her arrows when they were at such range. Then again, she did have the help of Darion and Dust to keep the attacking and pouncing at bay. Some of the hounds were beginning to notice that if they got close, they got killed. A hound beside her yelped out in a gargling shriek of agony and death after being impaled right into the stomach area. Kari was only able to watch the scene for little of a second when a blur of her eyes caused to spin on one foot behind.
Swwwp!
"RREEAAUAUR!" The melody of a dying Dark-Hound was music to her ears as Kari quickly fixated another arrow in the missing one's place, pulling back into the aiming stance. Though her face was coated in seriousness, she was having the time of her life! This was actual legit danger that she was in and she was handling like an ace! A prickling of annoyance blossomed in the back of her head as she thought of Bastion and all of his warnings he gave her. And he thought she couldn't defend herself. That sad, sad man...
A whinny brought her entire attention to her left where Dust was trampling his hooves on the ground threateningly, and for good reason. A Dark-Hound was leaning on its hind legs, red eyes threatening to burst into flames at the sheer blood lust in its eyes. Yukari's eyes lowered in concentration as she pointed her bow at the beast. It was pathetic how easy killing those things were. And there she thought she would have a chal--
"AAAAIIEEE!!!"she shrieked when a white hot pain shot through her left leg. Kari was not sure what happened but all she knew was that she was falling to the ground at an exceedingly slow rate. The fire spread through her leg even when she finally hit the ground with a thud, bow miraculously still lodged in her hand. Her elbow scraped the grass and twigs that littered the ground. Kari closed her eyes for a second and opened them again to see Dust backing up to a tree, whinnying louder at the advancing Dark Hound which was still snapping its jaws at the steed.
"D..." Kari barely got the name out when another shot of white fire stabbed viciously in her leg, pulling out an ear-splitting scream instead of a name. Stabbing was the right word when Kari suddenly realized what the pain was by looking down at her leg in fear. A Dark Hound had its fangs latched deep into her leg and was yanking.
