Naru

It was such a busy place, this marketplace, it was an odd place full of things from all over. Strange things and familiar things, cultures came here and mixed and mingled. There was things from everywhere, and the people. Just as exotic or mundane as the items for sell or trade in this place. This place where all worlds seemed to come together in one amalgamation of an ultimate marketplace. Almost anything from whatever world or realm could be found in this place.

White fox ears twitched gently at all the noise buzzing around him, all sorts of voices filled the air, calling out in all sorts of languages for people to come and sample the wares. Naru moved past crowds of people with the confidence that usually infected one who knew exactly what they were looking for and where to go to find it. Naru wasn't really looking for anything in particular though, well, there was a specific fruit he wanted, but he had yet to find the seller of said fruit.

It was a strange, lavender colored fruit that was the size of a mango and tasted like the mixture of grapes and blackberries with a hint of apple. It was a strange combination of flavors, but one that Naru was fond of. His golden eyes, eyes that still held a great sorrow, searched around for such fruit, certain he would find it eventually. He moved easily through the crowd in his lavender kimono, an apparel that some found difficult to move fluidly in due to how they could constrict leg movement, but Naru had worn this style of clothing his entire life. He could run and even fight comfortably without hindrance in a kimono, though he didn't much like fighting.

Violence was something he had grown to hate over the past one thousand or so years, but if a situation called for it, Naru was not one to hesitate at reacting violently.

At first, things had been overwhelming. The sights, the sounds... the smells. It had taken years to get used to it all, to learn how to survive, and how to hunt. The hunting was a chancy thing at best, in the marketplace. Then again, the young brunette had only one target. White hair. Snowy ears and tail .... Just the thought brought to mind the horror of that night, when the town had burned and smoke tainted the air.

Sorrel wore a disguise to make sure the demon wouldn't recognize the youth he'd nearly killed ages ago. Only cowardice had saved him. Clad in black and brown, Sorrel walked through the market. There had been rumors of a fox demon, spirit, in the area. And now ... a simple glimpse proved that to be true.

The hunter crept through the crowd. Waited until he was close enough to this monster, and then stuck the point of his blade into the small of the fox's back.

Naru had just spotted a glimpse of the fruit he wanted as someone passed in front of him, so he paused, waiting for that person to move so he could get a better look at the stall set up across the way. Just as that person moved from blocking his line of sight and the fruit he wanted came into view, he felt something against the small of his back. Sharp and dangerous. Naru's body didn't even tense, he was a spirit after all, it would take far more than a knife to kill him. Bandits and thieves weren't uncommon in a setting like this, and so Naru naturally assumed he was being robbed.

That fluffy white tail twitched slightly, almost in annoyance. All he wanted was that lovely fruit. "Something I can help you with?" Naru turned his head slightly to get a glimpse of the person holding him up, those golden eyes as always struggled to hold back the eternal sorrow. Sorrow and a small bit of emptiness in them, though he always tried to hide it. Right now he sounded a bit annoyed, and even looked somewhat annoyed. "If this is a robbery, I'm not giving you anything, so you might as well just walk away now." He still sounded annoyed, a touch of rudeness in his voice.

He spat on the man. "You think I want to rob you?" Sorrel twisted his head to show off the marred skin on the left side of his neck. Stretched, puckered, burned. It was testament to the disaster he'd survived. "I want revenge for what you did." Grey eyes, stormy, angry, locked onto the spirit. "You destroyed my village. Killed everyone. You're the reason why I'm not even in my own world anymore!" The angered words, he hoped they were daggers sharp enough to pierce the demon's skin. "You monster."

People glanced at them, but didn't interfere. As yet, no fight had broken out and the pair weren't really bothering anyone. In general the marketplace saw dozens of battles every day. Too many really for the visitors to bother stepping in.

When the other spat on him, Naru scowled and turned to fully face the other. Looking almost as if he were about to spit back at him, but Naru didn't spit because the other had taken off his hood to reveal such marred flesh. Flesh marred by a fire. Naru's lips parted ever so slightly in surprise, and the other continued to speak. Accusations and anger were hurled his way, but he deserved this man's anger. "Impossible." Naru regained his composure and attempted to brush the other off with his words. "That was one thousand or so years ago. No human can survive that long. Go point your knife at someone else." He took a step back and began to turn, towards that stall with the fruit.

There was no way anyone had survived that slaughter, and even if they had, that had been so long ago, how could a survivor still be alive after that? It was hard not to accept the other's words as truth though, because there were very few who knew exactly what Naru had done and they were other spirits. Gaea the All-Mother and Mielikki keeper of the spirit forest in the realm of spirits. No human would have known unless they had been there. Naru was frowning a bit, and his body slightly tense as he attempted to move away from this revenge seeking man.

"Impossible?" He reached out and yanked on the monster's tail. It was soft. Deceptive. Everything about this beautiful appearance was nothing more then a lie. He'd seen every inch stained with blood. "I was flung from the world I knew when you vanished. I've been here since I was twelve." Why was he saying so much? Because he needed to be believed by this man, to make sure that his revenge would be all the sweeter.

The knife flashed out. Dark laced silver aimed for an arm. "I've waited so long for this ..." And he didn't even care what would happen next.

Naru's movements were halted when his tail was yanked, and he turned to glare at the young man. That fluffy thing was rather sensitive to pain, but still, Naru did deserve the pain. His lips were parting to speak but the other was already moving at him with that knife. A sigh slipped passed Naru's lips instead of words as he brought his left arm up to catch the blade with his flesh, it tore through the sleeve of his lovely lavender kimono and bit into the flesh of his arm. Naru winced and then flinched, jerking back and away from the man instantly.

His arm burned and ached in a way any mortal knife never would cause and the wound wasn't even beginning to heal as it normally should have. It throbbed. He covered the wound with his right hand as his lightly colored blood seeped from the cut. Naru was surprised, that was unexpected. No mortal should have a weapon like that. "Human, you have a dangerous toy." It was a weapon that could possibly kill him if it pierced his heart, possibly. If not kill him outright it would certainly cripple him. Golden eyes darted this way and that looking for a way out, the crowd pressed around them without getting close enough to get involved. It'd be tricky pushing his way through, and he couldn't exactly fight this man. There were too many people that would get caught in the crossfire.

The human in question glanced at the sharp edged blade. "I paid dearly for such a toy. But it was worth it." The fox couldn't escape. Sorrel wouldn't let him! There had to be a way to prevent that. He fumbled with something in his freed hand. The long length of red ribbon flowed out, stretched, and tangled around the fox spirit's tail. If made with the right components, the bit of magic was supposed to capture this monster. It was a big if.

"I paid dearly for everything I have. All to make sure you wouldn't be able to escape." All the quests ... the personal sacrifices ... Sorrel's shoulder twinged. Gloved hands tightened. He bore more scars then anyone had a right to wear. It was a wonder no more showed then the one on his neck. Then again ... Sorrel was overfond of his features. A weakness, most certainly.

Escape or lead this man away from the crowd so no one else got hurt, those eyes were still darting around and then he found his opening. Naru turned slightly to dart off when something stopped him right in his tracks. Something that had curled around his fluffy tail. Another item that a human shouldn't have, he was caught. It was well made and there was no way Naru could get it off, it was made to capture things like him. "These toys shouldn't be in human hands." Well not just humans, but that wasn't the point.

Naru was scowling. "Human, you enjoy dangerous games." He glanced around again, the crowd had given them an even wider berth now, but they were still far to close in Naru's opinion. Some one could still get accidentally hurt. "You've caught me, the game is over. Now it's my turn to chase you, that is how tag works, isn't it?" Naru was still scowling though even if his words had sounded like a tease. "Besides, it's more fun to play in the park, not the busy market square." He had to wonder, was this man going to kill him now, right here in the plain view of everyone? It wasn't like Naru could escape, he was trapped. His tail twitched slightly.

Sorrel scowled. He tugged on the ribbon, yanked it hard. And started walking away. It was true. He wanted to savor his revenge far from any prying eyes. He wanted to gloat over a whimpering ball of fearful spirit, before putting and end to it. To the monster, the demon, who;d stolen everything from him. "This isn't a game. This is revenge for all the innocent lives you took. We were the last village you decimated. I heard about the massacres you left in your wake. White demon." They were now somewhere behind the stalls, and moving towards the less then stellar living area. This was a section of tents, of leans tos and makeshift abodes.

Past all of that was a tiny hut, hidden away behind the trees of a small forest. This was where Sorrel headed, and he didn't care how banged up his captive got. In fact, he let branches whip back on purpose. "Now .. I wonder what I should use to collar you for good?" He headed towards the hut, ribbon still in hand. "I want to keep you alive for a while. I want to make this last ... " For as long as possible.

Naru grunted slightly as the other tugged on that ribbon and he was forced to follow, his scowl slowly faded though to a more pensive expression. He did truly deserve whatever this man did to him, any pain this man put him through and Naru was more than willing to accept it. He deserved it. He even deserved death, but death was not something Naru could all to happen to him yet. Not without another spirit, lesser or higher or the same level as he to take his place. So silently Naru moved, following this man that held his life in his hands.

Something would have to be done before the punishments went so far as to actually cause death, but for now, Naru would let the man savor his revenge. He was looking down at his arm, where the knife had cut him earlier, it was finally beginning to heal but so very slowly. There was no doubt in Naru's mind that the knife the male had could kill him if it were plunged into his heart. A tree branch suddenly smacked Naru in the face. He grunted and looked up rather quickly, rubbing a hand against his face, a bit more wary as he followed his captor to his hidden hut.

"Revenge won't bring any of them back, it won't right the wrongs I did." Naru gave a slight shrug. "Gaea has already punished me for my sins against her anyway. Still, did you ever stop to think why? Why would a spirit, a guardian and protector of nature of all Gaea's children suddenly turn to such slaughter? Of course justification doesn't make it right, but I'm just wondering if you ever wondered why I did it." He was watching the other almost curiously.

For the most part, Naru seemed rather nonchalant about all of this.

"I already know why you did it. People were destroying nature. But not our village! We tried to live in peace with the world around us." Bitterness edged every word. Sorrel came to a halt after slamming the door of his home open. The ribbon, he tied tight around his wrist. Tethered to the spirit as he was, the young man knew he would be stuck trying to get changed before him. That wouldn't do. He'd worked so hard on his disguise. Too hard to let it slide away when he was so close to his goal.

He started rummaging in a box, and pulled a black and silver collar from within. With another length of ribbon tied to it, he moved towards Naru, fully intending to snap it around the spirit's neck. "They'll never come back. But seeing you suffer will make me feel better."

Naru had gone to far in his rampage, he knew some of those he had killed were innocent. He knew that, but still. "Well, at least you know my reasons." Naru watched the other as he rummaged around for something, and then flinched back slightly when the young man came towards him with a collar. Naru had never once worn a collar before, and given the effects the things that had already been used against him had, he wasn't sure what this collar might do to him. Naru could offer to willingly stay, but that would lessen the sweetness of this man's revenge, wouldn't it? It wasn't exactly revenge if the victim was willing. Well it was, but Naru was sure it wouldn't be satisfying.

His ears twitched. "Well, as long as my suffering makes one of us feel better." Didn't this man understand how such actions had even affected teh nature spirit? Humans were as much a part of nature as the trees and birds and everything else. Slaughtering so many had affected the nature spirit, it still affected him. A part of him had died with all those others, just like a part of him had died with the nature humans had been destroying. Naru took a step back, raising a hand, as if to fend off the collar.

"I'm a spirit, you won't be able to keep me caged forever, human."

He didn't want to hesitate, but he did. Unbound leather hung from Sorrel's hand. "I can certainly try." Sorrel shook his head and wrapped the collar around the spirit's neck. Now, why now Naru should have been bound to stay near Sorrel, so long as he held possession of part of the collar, a remnant of it's creation. With that in mind, he unbound the ribbons and stepped back.

Now that part of his goal was accomplished, he felt somewhat uncertain. On unsteady ground. Sorrel had never actually harmed anyone when there was no cause before, no immediate cause anyway. "What did you mean, when you said you'd already been punished?"

((Sorry for disappearing yesterday! I had internet problems. ))

Naru had stepped back when the other stepped forward, his hands up. Making a show of resisting without actually resisting. The other wouldn't know, and when that collar snapped around Naru's neck he frowned deeply. No, he didn't like that constricting feeling, he was a free thing, a wild animal. No one had ever put a collar on him before and Naru already immediately hated it even without knowing the effects of this collar. Certainly it was a magical thing like the ribbons the other had used to drag him off to his hut.

The spirit's hands were on the collar, touching it and tugging at it slightly. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling. Naru was so preoccupied with touching and feeling this thing that he almost missed the young man's words. His ears twitched a bit and his tail flicked. Naru lowered his hands from the collar. "When I vanished that day, it wasn't of my own doing. Gaea whisked me away, locked me away in the realm of spirits, in the forest of Mielikki for a thousand years. Alone, so I could think and reflect upon my actions. I'm sure you think that too light a punishment." He shrugged, sounding rather nonchalant about it, Naru ended it there. He would not tell this man about the half vampire he had been bound to after that isolation.

His golden eyes watched the other almost carefully, the human seemed a little uncertain, but Naru could certainly push him to physical violence if the man needed a push.

][It's fine. I've been having problems lately with the internet too, it cuts in and out randomly. We got a new router and it lessened the problem, I think we might need a new modem though.][

A shiver of disgust swept down his spine. "Oh most definitely not." Though, what to do? Sorrel's eyes flicked over the other man, and landed on that long fluffy tail. He grabbed it again and squeezed hard. Maybe he could tie it up ... or pierce those soft, sensitive looking, ears. Gold or silver would look pretty, be painful as well.

There were too many possibilities, and this demon spirit seemed far less of a threat now then when he'd been in a rage. Maybe he would start his revenge off slowly. The ribbons, of course! He could use them to tie the other man up. Then it would be easier to do other things.

Naru's tail twitched lightly when the other looked at it and he moved, trying to slip out of reach of the other. His soft tail was caught though, and the young man squeezed it hard, the appendage, as well as the rest of Naru's body had tensed and he whimpered softly. His ears flicking in annoyance. He didn't like having his tail squeezed at all, of course he deserved whatever pain this man put him through, but his tail and ears should be off limits. At least in Naru's opinion. They were more sensitive to sensations than the rest of his body.

That tail twitch slightly in the tight grip of the other, and Naru reached for the young man's hands. To pry them off of his tail. "Let go of that, torture me if you want, but leave my tail out of it." If Naru knew the other was thinking of piercing his ears, he might've full out attempted an escape, just to protect those sensitive things. For now he was concerned with keeping his tail out of this person's hands and only idly wondering how far this man's revenge would go.

Sorrel opened his mouth. No one but him would ever know what he had been about to say. A loud knock shook the little cabin, from the roof to the very bottom of it's foundation.

"You little pest!" The deep, rumbling, voice boomed.

Sorrel paled. The door flew off it's hinges and bounced off the far wall, narrowly missing the two men. An ogre stepped through, the doorway, though he needed to bend nearly in half to do it. "I owe you a beating. You lost me that wager!"

"The deal was that I put a sleeping potion in the man's drink. How was I supposed to know he wasn't going to take his usual flask to the races?" Sorrel let go of the spirit's tail and edged back. That was when the ogre noticed Naru.

Menacing yellow eyes turned to the pale haired man. "Maybe I should take this out of your hide too. I fancy a bite of fox spirit. Wouldn't be as tough as a human man's skin."

((The ogre is an npc character, do what you want with him.))

Naru's golden eyes had narrowed at his captor when the other's lips parted to speak, but there was an interruption and those eyes suddenly cold turned to the ogre that had barged in. Golden eyes that held no warmth in them, once long ago, Naru's eyes had been violet. A soft, warm, gentle color. Naru was scowling, and he rolled his golden colored eyes at the ogre.

"You threaten me? Know your place, creature of Gaea." Naru wouldn't have said anything, not right away, if the ogre hadn't also threatened him. Of course he wouldn't let the creature harm the human though if he did, perhaps it would save him from this imprisonment. Naru sounded annoyed, maybe even a bit disinterested, but still he stepped forward, placing himself between the ogre and the human.

That fluffy tail of is twitched slightly in irritation, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. One of Naru's ears flicked, just for show, and a contained gust of wind whirled around the ogre, pushing and blowing him back out the door. Naru followed him, his footsteps deliberate as he moved with an almost cold and calculating air. No, the fox spirit did not like violence, he never had really, and that dislike had only grown after losing control. Still, he was quick to turn to violence if he thought the situation called for it.

"I shall return your spirit to Gaea, the All-Mother." The gust of wind had deposited the ogre just a few feet from the entrance of the human's home and Naru stood in front of him. Not intimidated by the creature at all. "I am nature and nature is me." He spoke the words coldly, with a hint of arrogance as roots shot up from the ground, wrapping around the ogre's ankles and legs. Holding him in place.

Naru was sure this probably wasn't helping the human see him as less than a monster, but at the moment he didn't care. Perhaps the man would punish him for this as well. Gaea certainly wasn't interfering and this was technically self-defense. "I will never understand why Gaea made ogres, or trolls, or goblins, or orcs, or any other manner of nasty creature." The ground beneath the ogre opened up, and seemed to simply swallow the creature. There was no rumbling, no shaking of the earth as it opened, there simply appeared a chasm there and then it closed up once the ogre was safely inside.

The creature wasn't inside the earth though. Naru had banished him to a place in the spirit realm. The ogre wasn't exactly dead, but he wasn't quite alive. Mostly he was sent there so Gaea could deal with him and Naru wouldn't have to get too violent with the cretin. Of course, to the human it probably looked as if Naru had sent the ogre to it's death in a chasm that closed suddenly and most likely squished the creature when it closed.

That done, Naru wiped his hands off on his kimono, as if he had just been touching something very dirty, and turned towards the human. "Are all your friends that rude?"

The ogre was dealt with swiftly and with such ease! Swallowed up by the earth itself, there was not even a hint of what had happened. Slowly, the human crept from the hut.

"I have no friends." Sorrel had tried. Things ended badly, without question. He had a secret to hide, after all. Luck followed him too, but not the good kind. It was all he could do to survive. "There are only people I owe, people who owe me, everyone else ... and you."

Why hadn't the fox spirit banished him to the depths of the earth? Sorrel just didn't understand it. He shook his head and walked into the hut. The door was still intact, and the hinges were none the worse for wear. Sorrel grabbed a hammer and some nails. He dragged the door to its frame and started nailing everything back together, all the while hopping that the collar would do its work and keep the spirit from leaving.

"So, yes, all your friends are that rude." Naru had rolled his eyes as he watched the human until the male disappeared into the hut. Though he was within Naru's line of sight quickly enough, with hammer and nails. Clearly to fix the door. Naru could've fixed it himself, but he didn't lift a finger, or twitch an ear to. Why should he? The fox spirit watched the human for a few moments, then turned his back to him. "I have unfinished business in the market, if you'll excuse me." His tail twitching almost with anticipation now, at the thought of that lovely fruit, Naru began to move forward.

He hadn't gone far at all when he suddenly found himself unable to move any further forward. The collar seemed just a little tighter than before, and any motion that would take him further from the human just could not be made, at all. That tail twitched in agitation, as one hand went to tug on the collar. Naru grit his teeth, body tense. He did not like this collar one bit. "Take this off me, human, or I will banish you to a place that is worse than anything you've ever experienced in your life so far." Naru had turned back towards the hut and man now. Though briefly he wondered what would happen to him if he did banish the human to any place, since this collar clearly bound him to a defined space and no further than that space around the human.

Naru bent down and picked up a rock, while his other hand was tugging, touching, looking for a way to take the collar off. He squeezed the rock for a moment, then drew back and threw it at the door the human was repairing. He bent and picked up another rock, this one he intended to throw at the human instead of the door.

It was easy to ignore the fox, once he knew the collar was working. Sorrel hammered the last nails, and jumped. He glared at the ground for a few seconds before turning on Naru. He stalked over and grabbed an ear. Pinching it with his nails, Sorrel dragged the fox's face down towards him. He really didn't pay any mind to the rock Naru had been holding, thrown at him or not. The worst he could get was a bruise after all. Maybe a blinded eye. It wasn't that bad.

"You might as well banish yourself!" Sorrel snarled and twisted, hard. "The fact is, you're mine now. To do with as I will." And just because he hadn't the stomach to do anything unprovoked, didn't mean he would do nothing at all.

Naru didn't get the chance to throw the second rock, as he was drawing his hand back, the human was approaching him. The young man seemed rather angry, perhaps he didn't like having rocks thrown at him, or maybe he didn't like the way Naru had demanded the collar be removed. The fox spirit dropped the rock and yelped softly when his ear was grabbed and pinched, tugged so that he had to lower his head. Naru scowled, and then yelped again when that ear was twisted, he dropped the rock, and his hands moved to grasp the human's wrist tightly.

"I'm a spirit, human. I'll escape soon enough, I belong only to Gaea." Banish himself? Could he do that? The collar prevented him from physically moving to far away from this man, but if he used his abilities could he move away then? Probably not, it would probably have the same effect as banishing the human while he was still wearing the collar. It probably wasn't wise to test such theories. One ear twitched, the other tried to twitch away, twitch and wriggle out of that painful grip. Naru dug his fingernails into the human's wrist, of course Naru deserved the pain, but he really did not like having his ears tugged. They were to tender and sensitive for that sort of thing.

Sorrel met Naru's eyes, glare for glare. He wanted to spit on the fox. To make him suffer. "Maybe Gaea abandoned you. Why else would the Earth Mother allow this to happen without interfering? Would she really stand by and let this happen to you if she really cared?" Perhaps the goddess sought more then the redemption of just one soul. Perhaps she wanted to see how things played out, in the chances that two might be healed.

The thought never even crossed Sorrel's mind. He was far too intent on trying to harm the spirit with his words, and drive a gash into that loyal heart. And if that didn't work, well he grabbed the other ear and started twisting that one too.

"Idiot. Gaea doesn't abandon her children, nor does she help those that can help themselves. She'd rescue me, if she thought I couldn't rescue myself. I'll escape, but right now I'm having too much fun to even try." Then that other ear was grabbed and Naru yelped lightly, wincing as it was twisted. His tail twitched and moved behind him in agitation driven twitches. Naru dug his fingernails deeply into the flesh of the human's wrist, trying to draw blood. Trying to get him to let go. Those ears tried to twitch free of the hard grip they were caught in.

"You humans, you never play your games fairly." He released the man's wrist and reached out to grab the human's ears. To tug and twist them in return, of course they weren't as tender and sensitive as Naru's ears, but perhaps it would still have a nice effect. Especially if he dug his sharp fingernails into the flesh a bit. Naru undoubtedly deserved pain and punishment. Torture, but there was a limit to what he would willingly take, and having his ears tugged and pinched was not one of those things.