Shadows Beneath

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Do you prefer fantasy roleplays set in the past? The modern time? Or in the future?

  • Past

    Votes: 8 66.7%

  • Present

    Votes: 1 8.3%

  • Future

    Votes: 3 25.0%
  • Total voters
    12
"Helped you?.." She paused for a moment to recall. "I believe he spoke of you. Said something about some demon getting himself into some kind of trouble.. I warned him about helping, but he insisted. He never did give much details before..." her voice trailed, then came to a dead stop before changing rails on her train of thought. "I don't know much about the trouble you're in or what your situation is, but I hope you haven't put my home, and what I have to remember my friend by, in danger." The tone accompanied by her statement was extremely serious.

"I imagine your injured... pet, friend,... thing, won't be a danger or trouble other than the fact I can smell him all the way across the field and into the forest. I can fix that, provided he cooperates." She finally arose from the floor, swiftly dusted herself off, and extended a pale hand in the direction of the male, using the other to pull the cloak's hood from her face.

It revealed a fair female, young, porcelain complexion, with wisps of dark reddish auburn hair gently placed here and there, a little untamed thanks to the hood. The rest was tied up by a ribbon into a ponytail that disappeared under the cloak. With pale eyes, a small, lightly perked nose, and soft nude lips, She appeared human for all intents and purposes, though she didn't act much like one.

"I don't think you're lying." She stated simply. "So for now, if the human welcomed you, so do I." She awaited him to shake her hand and introduce himself, as she knew was customary to humans.
 
Alution watched as the female went into the house, a small amount of suspicion held in his sharp blue gaze. He only sheathed his claws when she went into the house. His gaze flicked to the demon when he approached. He'd keep up his act of not speaking until he was absolutely sure this person could be trusted. He followed Shino inside and settled into his little blanket nest, watching the two carefully. His eyes narrowed a fraction and he tucked his wing in closer when the woman commented about him.
 
Shino was unsure of trusting the girl just as she had been with him, but he decided to to just go along with her and deal with the problem when the time came if she ever turned her back on him. When she had said that he wasn't lying, Shino's expression softened and he looked at the girl curiously as she removed the hood of her cloak from her face to reveal her physical appearance. "The name's Shino. I'll leave you're... Home soon, so you don't have to worry about that," he said as he wondered why he never knew that someone besides the human he knew had custody of the house. Pushing his irrelevant thoughts aside, he shook the girl's hand. "And... Alution isn't a thing, but i'd appreciate it if you'd fix his wound, considering how that was why I found him in the first place," he added as he waited for the girl's introduction and response to his request.
 
"Shino..." She pondered on the name for a moment as he shook her hand. "I meant no offense, but there's no use in assuming things. So simply acquaintances, I suppose. You're not like the rest, are you Shino?" She asked, though it sounded more as though she were just thinking out loud as she retrieved her hand from his.

Her mind wandered idly as she approached the small creature that had perched itself in a makeshift nest, slowly. As she went to kneel down next to it, She turned her gaze back to the male fora moment, realizing she had forgotten something. "Mina, by the way. You can call me Mina. And I wouldn't suggest going out there for awhile, something strange is happening with the mist this eclipse.." She trailed off, continuing what she was doing before.

"Alution, is it? I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to help you." She spoke softly and sweetly, bowing her head and extending her hand in front of him to display her letting her guard down, lack of fear, and to let him smell her. "You're small, but I don't believe you're too young, you can talk, can't you?" She had a good knowledge on creatures, but not by any means excellent when it came to gryphons. She knew they could speak after a short while, provided they weren't abandoned, General sizing, and how to approach and tame most, though it was never guaranteed with any creature. "Can I take a look?" She asked looking back up to his eyes, then to his wing.
 
Alution watched the woman, Mina, approach him. He kept his silence upon her questioning his ability to speak. After all, being quiet was not a lie. He watched her carefully, holding her gaze in his icy blue orbs. He slowly spread his injured wing, the soreness clearly showing in the movement. There wasn't much he could do to hide the weakness. He waited, watching carefully for the woman to make a move.
 
Mina watched and bowed her head in appreciation to the creature, lightly taking his wing in her hand to inspect it. She held it out gently, keeping an eye on the creature's face and actions to be aware of its pain. It was only stretched enough to where she could examine it better and closer.

"Must've got it coming through. I've seen them, even sported a few of my own. If not, it just looks like something else caught it." She laid the wing back down and pet it gently a few times to relax it before making her way to one of the bags she carried. "I can fix it, just need a few things." She stated, rummaging through the pack.
 
Alution held incredibly still when Mina took his wing into her hand and began to spread it. He watched as she gently pet his wing, wondering just what she was up to. His eyes narrowed a fraction as she stopped and began to dig around in her bag. Just what was she looking for? The gryphon was not sticking around if she happened to pull out a needle.
 
Shino didn't respond to the girl, but pulled back his hand and watched the girl approach Alution. She didn't introduce herself.... Shino thought as he contemplated whether he should have said anything about it or not. Before he even made a decision, he heard the girl make a remark and introduce herself as Mina. Shino then nodded when she mentioned not leaving because of the eclipse, but his thoughts conflicted with what she had suggested. I thought something didn't feel right.

As Mina was tending to Alution's wound, Shino looked out the window of her home and frowned. "This hasn't happened before. If not that, then it hasn't happened in a few years. Maybe even a decade," Shino spoke to himself as he thought of what might have caused the mist during the time of the eclipse. Something just didn't seem right. He felt the need to leave the two and go see what his instincts were telling him, but he also didn't want to get himself involved in anymore problems than he was already in.

Sighing to himself, he turned to watch Mina get something out of her bag while Alution was watching her intently to see what it was that she was getting, making Shino smile a bit. Something in him told him that it was fine to leave Alution with Mina, so Shino silently slipped through the door while they were occupied. Once he was out, he disappeared without a trace. His demon scent no longer lingering in the area of Mina's cottage.

If I remembered, wasn't that half demon and human headed for the village? Shino thought to himself as he picked up his speed and headed toward the direction of the village, but before he could go any further, he stopped right in his tracks when he saw in the distance that it was no longer visible. What made him surprised, was that he picked up the scent of one human.... Literally just one human and the half demon. Standing at a distance, he looked at the human boy who was on the ground and showed no signs of approaching them. The hell happened? He thought to himself as he turned around in the direction of Mina's cottage. I should warn her about this. Unless she already knows what's going on, but I also can't leave these two here either. Damn. He cursed to himself as he pondered about his decision carefully.
 
"Ah" She smiled lightly as she started to pull her hand back from the small pouch, what looked like gauze, some leaves, and a vile of greenish liquid were tucked into her palms by her slender fingers. "This should do it." She proceeded as she heard over to the nest, ignoring the male's absence, "You'll still need to rest, but it'll be fine by tomorrow. You'll be able to fly again without the soreness provided you take it easy. No stunts or tricks, no carrying anything over a light load, and glide as much as possible. Too much flapping could cause complications or minor ruptures." She smiled lightly at the creature as she leaned down to it again.

"Your friend, er, acquaintance, comes and goes a lot, huh?" She made idle conversation with the creature. Even if he couldn't talk, he could still understand her, that's for sure. "This mixture won't sting too much, most of the pain will just be from me applying it, but I'll need you to hold still as much as you can, okay?" Her hand stretched out to his wing again, still just as slowly as before, not assuming he trusted her now just because he let her close the first time. Once the wing was stretched out, She began applying the liquid in the vile to the wound, turning it so she could crush and sprinkle the herbs on top of the liquid. With a drop or two more of the liquid, she wrapped it with the gauze gently while still keeping a sturdy hold.

Mina took her hands back and sat cross-legged on the floor a few feet away from him and gestured to his wing with a nod, letting him know that she was finished. "Probably went to check the mist. He was almost right, it's been a few decades since it has acted this way, but it didn't happen this quickly, nor was it as severe. We lost some wandering humans and those who couldn't make it out of the mist, but from what I saw, it was getting close to the nearby village." She thought out loud, removing her blade from its sheath again and examining it closely and intently.
 
Alution saw Shino leave out of the corner of his eye, but didn't bring much attention to it. His focus returned to the woman and her bag when she pulled out a couple items. There was no needle, so he stayed settled in his nest. He nodded softly as she spoke of what he could and couldn't do. It was a reasonable list. He gave a small shrug at her comment about Shino, as he didn't know much about the demon's habits. Something told the gryphon that the demon was accustomed to being on his own. He didn't stay in one place for too long- that, he was sure of.
He watched as she began to treat his wing, wincing every now and then as she pressed the herbs on a bit too hard. Upon her finishing wrapping his wing, he looked at the gauze and made a small thoughtful noise. It felt awkward folding his wing with the gauze on it, but he sucked it up and folded it back against his side.
Her next words got him a bit confused, until he realized that she was talking about what Shino had said before he headed out. Perhaps this anomaly was the reason for him getting hurt coming through the mist. He'd thought that he was out of it. Perhaps he was, then it had expanded and snagged him? He couldn't be sure, though.
His sharp blue gaze landed cautiously on the drawn blade. His gaze flicked up to the woman's face, wondering what she had planned for that knife. He came to the decision that she was safe to talk to. "I hope you don't plan on using that on me. It wouldn't go well for either of us." He spoke simply, his deep voice betraying the idea that he was a young gryphon.
 
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Mina only moved her eyes from the blade to the gryphon, a soft hum of amusement emerged from her throat, a small smile accompanying it. "I agree, though if I plan on using it on anything anytime soon, I need to clean it." She complained jokingly in a lighthearted tone. "Sometimes it amazes me how dirty it gets when I go out for dinner. I was just looking at it, that's all." She reassured.

"And you can talk. And with a much bigger voice than the rest of you, too." She commented, wiping the bulk of the blood and mess from her blade on the hem of her cloak. "I'm gonna have to sharpen it too." She complained lightly.
 
Alution listened to her lightly complain about the knife. He had no complaints about his arsenal. His beak was sharp, as were his claws. A small chuckle escaped him as she commented about his voice and his size. "Never make assumptions before you get the full picture." He spoke simply. He rested his head on his large paws, the events of the day finally taking their toll on him. He had to be careful, as he didn't know if his pursuers had the guts to follow him into the human world. For the moment, he just needed to relax. Otherwise his wing might not heal right, and that was not a comfortable thought. He could already feel himself drifting off, but he tried his best to keep his attention on the woman.
He eventually lost the fight with sleep and his heavy eyelids shut. Images played though his mind just as they always did. Her snowy white feathers carried away by a gentle breeze... The nest torn apart... The empty place where the egg had been nestled... Specks of blood here and there on the rocks... The waves making an odd pink foam as they slammed against the rocks and cliff side...
His expression was that of odd serenity, trapped between rage, grief, and something that he lacked the words to explain. His sleeping form was tense, ready to spring at the slightest disturbance.
 
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"Eh?" Ayame looked at him as he asked about her. "I'm..." She thought about all of the people she knew and her voice dropped to something more vulnerable than a half demon's voice should be. "Yeah... I'll be fine." She knelt down beside him and sighed, "But you're not." Her earlier attitude and enthusiasm were gone as she reached a hand towards the human in front of her. She touched the amulet he was wearing only to pull her hand back. It was definitely real, and though it seemed to have protected him from the mist, something about i didn't sit well with her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she moved her hand to feel at where his head had hit.
 
A sudden flash of anger fills Tony's mind as Ayame touches the amulet around his neck and dissipates as quickly as it appeared. He blinked a few times wondering what that wave of emotion was all about. "It was probably just all the stress the mist has caused and exhaustion....", he thought. Tony returns his attention to Ayame as he hears her questioning him and mutters "...I'll live. It's probably just a small bruise." He slowly gets up with a grunt as the pain on his legs fades away. He gazes into Ayame's eyes with a compassionate look on his face "I'm sorry for your loss.... I bet that those people in that village were dear to you."

Tony turns around to take a better look at his surroundings, since he was a tad too exhausted for that earlier. He squints as he sees a figure in the distance. Is that a survivor? Or a threat? Or someone who is simply not related to the recent events? He doesn't know. He speaks up without taking his eyes away from the figure in the distance "Ayame....? I think we have some company."
 
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From the distance, Shino saw the human turn, looking straight at him as he spoke to the half demon. Shino couldn't decipher what he was saying from the distance, but could guess what was said by the movement of his mouth and the muffles sound that he strained his ears to hear. After thinking about what he should do, Shino walked towards them. He just couldn't leave them there. It wasn't like they were enemies of the sort. At least not yet anyways. When he got closer to them, Shino put up his hand to wave at them awkwardly, only to bring it back and scratch the back of his head.

He wasn't sure as to what to do in this sort of situation. They were neither friends or barely acquaintances and he wasn't sure as to how they would react, so he kept his guard up in case a misunderstanding came up between them.
 
Ayame blinked, looking in the direction of the demon as he somewhat awkwardly waved at them. She stood back up from her kneeling position, recognizing both his appearance and his scent. Unlike her last interaction with him, she was much more stoic in expression, still processing that her friends, her village, and her human mother were consumed by the mist. The thought crossed her mind that maybe this demon had something to do with the mist. Maybe he knew about it. But his presence seemed to give her something more akin to a type of comfort than a feeling of danger.

"...He won't hurt us, so don't worry. I met him earlier, but stay on guard. Just in case." She definitely did not trust this demon, but he seemed their only option now, and she'd wanted to try and find him anyways in order to ask what he knew of the mist, so she'd have to play friend for now. Still feeling as though the human with her might disappear as the others had despite the strange amulet, she grabbed onto the edge of his sleeve as she walked towards the demon. A fake, but natural looking smile appeared, forcing her out of her stoic expression. She returned his awkward wave with a small one of her own.

"Um, hi. We met before, but I don't recall your name." her voice was pleasant again, a stark contrast to the numb vulnerability it held only moments before.
 
As the figure came closer Tony could he recognized the demon he saw in the forest earlier. Tony watched the demon with a mix of curiosity and unease. Even if the demon didn't seem to pose any kind of threat, the situation still made him shiver for some reason. Something didn't just feel right but that could be just his usual paranoia. For now he will trust Ayame's judgment. He shook his head as he started walking alongside Ayame towards their new company. His face twisted into a frown as he saw Ayame's smile. If he didn't know what had happened, he would think that the smile would be genuine. "Hopefully she can stay calm and do nothing too rash", Tony thought. A tense smile formed on his face as he stretched towards the demon and spoke up hesitantly "I think.... it would be polite to introduce myself first. I'm Tony."

Tony felt the back of his head with his free hand and flinches. There was definitely a bruise there but that is not his first priority. He had to stay alert because of his company and the mist, if it happened to spread even further. Suddenly a overwhelming feeling of quilt fills his mind. If the amulet protected him from the mist, did he take the only protection from the mist that the village had? His face became slightly paler and his hand behind his head shook faintly. He tried to hide his hand in his pocket, hoping that his company wouldn't question anything about reaction.
 
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Shino waited as Ayame spoke to the human and noticed when she smiled at him, that it looked unnatural and forced. He knew that they couldn't fully trust him, but he wasn't looking for trust. The current situation was already to the point where they all didn't have much of a choice. They had to do something or at least figure something out with what they all knew. When the human boy spoke up and introduced himself, Shino nodded his head in acknowledgement, not quite expecting a human that would seem so calm around a half demon and worse yet a full demon. Though he wasn't sure if the human was aware of whether they were full or half demons. Most humans would just stick them in the same category.

"My name's Shino," Shino introduced as he watched Tony's movement. Shino was sure that something must have happened to the village even though he was there recesntly and he knew it was bad. He didn't want to bring up the subject knowing that the village was where the human was obviously from, along with Ayame who seemed to have a connection with it and the humans. What caused Shino to walk up to Tony though, was his injury. Shino couldn't stand it when someone was hurt and he feigned ignorance of it. Even if it was little, he wanted to do something that would help.

"You're injury... What happened?" Shino asked as he looked at Tony and Ayame, scanning them with his eyes to see if there were any signs of severe injury. He knew that they weren't obliged to tell him, but he needed to know or at least see their injury to know what course of action to take so that their wound wouldn't get infected. Some people didn't realize that a small injury that is overlooked could sometimes become severe and cause death if they don't do anything about it and Shino knew that very well.
 
"Well.... It seems that the mist has spread out of the forest and into the village and it attacked us there, but i think we aren't that badly injured. I mean i got a small bruise but that ain't that important." Tony lied as a throbbing pain on the back of his head slowly grew stronger. He didn't want"I don't know, why that happened though, the mist i mean. I don't believe it should behave like that." There wasn't any reason not to tell Shino about what had happened to he village. Tony's uneasiness started slowly fading, as it started to seem that the demon in front of him didn't seem to be that threatening and even if he was dangerous to him, Tony couldn't defend himself.

The amulet seemed to have returned to it's earlier temperature compared to the freezing cold it was in the village. He didn't want to talk about it unless absolutely necessary even if it would be wiser to ask Shino if he knew something about it. Maybe he will ask about it at a better time but the question is what should they do now? Slowly he turned his head from Shino to Ayame and back to Shino before speaking up "What do you guys think we should do? I don't think it is wise to split up now, considering what has been happening but i don't have a proper place to go since what happened to the village. Any suggestions?" Tony was surprised by the steady tone of his voice. Maybe it was due to the exhaustion and tiredness which had been building up during the recent events, he didn't know.
 
Ayame raised an eyebrow as Tony said he had a simple bruise and that it wasn't important. With how hard he fell, he could have a concussion for all they knew, but it wasn't her place to question him on this if he didn't want Shino to know he was hurt. Ayame had a few small burns from the mist, but she could already feel them healing, so she was fine. With her same pleasant tone and smile she added, "Same! Now that my human village is gone and everyone who lived here was taken by the mist, I don't know where else I can go, though one could always wander about." She stretched her arms over her head before relaxing them again to tightly clasp them behind her back.

Her nails slightly dug into the skin on her knuckles in her attempt to keep her emotions in check. She no longer simply felt numb. Now a dull rage and blood lust was simmering inside her. Whoever was responsible for manipulating the mist, she would find them and she would rip their heart out. She would need to get stronger, though. Her eyes stayed on the demon, Shino. She could tell he was stronger than her, stronger than a lot of full demons most likely, but if he isn't the one responsible for this, how strong would the demon that IS responsible have to be? Is it even a demon? Or is the mist evolving on its own? Someone was going to pay for this.
 
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