PLOT

An unknown creature is killing off those with magic or of magic origin. There seems nothing is safe and though many adventures have sought clues none have found any. They simply know that whatever this is.. it is powerful and cares for nothing. It kills no matter how young, how innocent the victim. At first the humans did not care, safe in their sleepy non magical little villages but then human healers who used magic died too and now even they fear the future.

pm for rules/joining information

Tihana Audra Oroitz looked human enough but had powers enough to know that she was not... even though she couldn't remember more then two years ago so knew not where they came from. Still, she knew that meant nothing and that the evil could kill her too... would wish to kill her.... She sighed at the thought, shaking her head as she walked along the path. Such dark thoughts... they would do her little good.

She kept her head down, adjusting her large bag on her shoulder absently every now and then. She didn't say anything, thinking she was alone on the empty dusty road. There was only forest around her, the softest breeze making the trees seem to whisper to each other as their branches gently struck one another. The sound felt peaceful to her, relaxed. In response her muscles too relaxed, despite the long travel.

The traveler wore a dusty hat, glasses, worn leather travel pants, a blue silk shirt, black boots and a black coat that went past her knees. She also wore a lot of silver jewelry and a metal belt, her ears pierced both at the bottom and twice each up in the cartridge. She looked about 16 or 17, attractive enough despite her dusty cloths.

Angry shouts could be heard in the distance, and soon the form of a dog came bounding down the road, a rabbit clenched tightly in his jaws. A rabbit that still had a hunter's snare around it..Said hunter came into view as well, brandishing a rather large skinning knife and cursing at the dog as it ran past that girl and jumped into bushes next to the road, as if to hide in them. The angry hunter stopped and sighed..mummbled something about a demon dog and turned to go back the way he had come. He didn't even give that traveling girl a second glance.

The bushes the dog had leapt into rustled some and then grew still. Those bushes were growing around the thick trunk of a tree and since it didn't sound like the dog had run off somewhere else, he was probably sitting under said tree and gnawing on the rabbit he had stolen.

For a moment she watched the man and the dog, silent. Finally she giggled, shaking her head as she approached the bush cautiously. She spoke absently, having a habit of talking to animals even though they couldn't understand her... "You know you should at least return the trap..." She muttered, thinking how cute the dog had been. She'd always loved animals though... even the rabbit whose cute corpse she was deliberately not thinking about right now.

Ikori's heart skipped a beat...He had already changed, honestly he hadn't expected the girl to trouble herself with the likes of him. Ikori stood on the other side of the bushes, on the other side of that tree in human form, the rabbit was still in his mouth though. Holding it by it's ears with his teeth. "Hm?" He was shirtless, but wore dark pants and he seemed to be trying to look at the back of his left shoulder where a nasty bruise seemed to be appearing.

Ti let out a soft hmm as she found the bushes empty, stepping to the side as she followed the blood trail and catching sight of Ikori. She had not really seen a half naked man before... well not in the two years she could remember anyway, so instantly flushed and turned around so her back was facing him. No one had right to be that hot and surprise her like that!

Momentarily distracted she almost didn't see the rabbit corpse as she ran a hand through her bangs, causing her hat to shift position a little. "er.. I... sorry to disturb you...Um.. you should return that trap their kinda expensive..." She mumbled softly as she gazed at the ground with her back still too him. He seemed so... wild. ... so .. animalistic and she wasn't quite sure what to do with that.

Who knew that something so strange could happen? Normally she was much calmer, almost flirty but she'd been rather stunned. She'd expected a cute animal not... .not.. a random person! Well, shape-shifter technically she corrected herself absently.

Ikori snorted lightly at her reaction. She seemed so flustered all of a sudden, but then again. Coming up on a half naked boy when one thinks she's stalking a fluffy doggy probably has that effect on people. He reached up and took the rabbit from his mouth, holding it by the ears with one hand. "But...He threw a rock at me.." He said it with a slight pout in his voice and a bit of hurt in his tone.

Ti suppressed her blush as best she could, shaking her head to clear it before turning to face him. She kept taking off her hat, running her hand through her bangs again out of nervous habit. "Well you did take his source of living..." She trailed off, pouting to the trap. "Hunters are like that about their traps.... It's kinda weird but just the way they are..." She added with a cheerful smile, trying not to look at his chest too close though she was beginning to notice scars...

How strange... why would a person's back be all scared up like that? Having only two years of experience and spending most of it alone Ti knew little cruelty....She knew only the love of that who saved her and the travel of a woman alone. She had learned a bit about thieves but a quick shift and that was taken care of. Apparently her pathetic amount of coins wasn't worth fighting with a woman who could turn into very dangerous forms...

"But...it hurt.." Ikori was pouting slightly as he turned a bit and reached up to touch his shoulder where the bruise was forming. "...Besides...He had plenty of others. He could spare one....Humans are just greedy.." He looked down at the rabbit, then looked to her, then back down to the rabbit. With a light sigh, he began to work the corpse free of the trap.

Rocks tend to do that... but not all humans are greedy" She responded mildly, walking towards him. She blushed but looked at the bruise, touching just under it to make sure it wouldn't hurt. "Mama-may taught me some good tricks with plants and things.. I can take away some of the pain if you want..." She suggested quietly, ignoring his work on the trap for now. She didn't really think he'd listen to her... but it was worth a try. Though... it'd probably be a good idea for her to pretend to find it and return it if he decided to...

Ikori shook his head. "No..it's okay...I'm used to pain.." His voice was low, not a whisper but just low..and seemed always hold note of sadness to it. He didn't say anything even though he disagreed with her about all humans not being greedy. For the moment it seemed he was concentrating on getting the rabbit out of the trap, after a few moments of careful tugging, pulling and maneuvering, he had gotten the rabbit out without damaging the trap. "..Here..If I take it back, he'll probably just throw more rocks at me..or worse.." He had handed the trap out to her. If she hadn't noticed before, it would be hard to not notice the bandages around the wrist of the arm that held that trap out to her..if she looked at his other hand, there were bandages on that wrist as well.

I'll take it back for you..." She said absently, frowning as she gazed at the bruise some more. "Are you sure you don't want me to treat it? It'd only take a minute..." She suggested softly, a little unsure. She didn't like leaving another in pain.. May had taught her it just wasn't right. Still if he continued to insist she wouldn't have much choice. She would return the trap later, after it'd be convincing that a wolf could have eaten and dropped the trap...

"I'm sure.." With his other hand he thrust the rabbit towards her. "Do..do you want some of this?" Ikori's offer didn't stay on the table long. His eyes widened, and he dropped the rabbit and quickly dropped down to a crouch. As if trying to make himself as small as possible behind the tree.

A few moments later a small girl came running up the road. She looked about seven or eight. She seemed to be calling for someone. "Iiiiikoriii...where are youuu??" She continued down the road until she had past the spot where Ikori was hiding. "Ikori...the hunter man said he saw you...I know you went thiiis way...come back big brother!" Ikori didn't move until the girl had gone completely out of ear shot. She was probably going to the town a few miles up the road..

He sighed softly..looked like he couldn't go there. "..stupid human.." He wrinkled his nose in disdain and picked his rabbit up, slowly standing.

Ti watched, perplexed a moment. She had been raised by a human this past two years so honestly eating it uncooked like that seemed a little.... gross to her. Still she said nothing about it, just glancing towards the little girl. She tilted her head to the side, figuring out that the man had to be Ikori from the mention of the hunter. There was no way that it could be a coincidence. She turned back to Ikori, saying bluntly "Who's the girl?"

"...erh..No one important..." He had shivered lightly and shrugged a bit. Looking this way, then that as if to make sure the girl was gone or to make sure know one else was nearby. "...uhm..I'm called Ikori.." That was how introductions were done..right? Seemed a bit impersonal to him..but then..not everyone was a dog. "...she headed for that town..." He pointed in the direction the girl had gone in. "..I wanted to go to that town.." A light whimper had escaped him.

"My name's Tihana....Call me Ti, or whatever. " She said quietly, tilting her head to the side. She watched him a moment before speaking again, "And you should also be called bad liar. If she was no one important you wouldn't whimper like that because she's in that town now.... If you talk to me maybe i can help...Mama'May taught me to help anyone i can..." She wax studying him thoughtfully now, unsure what she was getting into but curious. There was something more going on here then he was telling her...

Ikori looked at Tihana, as if studying her for a few moments. He seemed to be debating something, and finally with a sigh he sat down on the ground. Sitting indian style with the rabbit laying in his lap. He stared down at the rabbit, and began to relieve it of it's fur. He didn't have a knife, but he was used to doing it with his fingernails when in human form. He licked his lips, his eyes not leaving what he was doing.

"...She's just a silly human girl..." Ikori frowned slightly. "...She wants me to be her brother...but I can't be her brother..She's a human..." There was more to it than that, but that was all Tihana needed to know..after all they had only just met.

"So? So was mama-may... and me...well... my hair isn't died this way by some spell and"" She shrugged, her cat ears and tail popping out and her earrings moving to sit in the correct place of the ear. She smiled at him a little bit, reaching downward to tap his nose with her tail as she pulled a knife from her boot. She held it towards him with the handle towards him as she added, " might be easier with this..." She then focused, pulling her tail and ear back in place, blushing. She had never shown that to a stranger without thought before...

"I'm a dog...I can't be a human's brother...they only see me as a pet..and a creature to take out aggression and stress on.." He had scowled a bit, and looked to her when she tapped his nose with her tail. That nose twitched a bit. "Heh..Kitty!" He smiled at her for a moment. A true smile, but then it was gone and he reached out to tenatively take the knife from her. He inspected it for a moment then handed it back. "..I might cut away too much of the meat..."

"That's not true.... not everyone's like that." She said with a sigh, reaching down and putting her knife away. "If that were true... two years ago, i'd be dead..." She said simply, running a hand through her bangs. Crouching down next to him she looked at the rabbit, frowning. She hated it but she was fairly good at cleaning her own meat, where she and May had lived it was so out of the way they had to do everything themselves. "I can clean that if you want... Won't get too much meat off that way" She said quietly, watching a moment.

Ikori's nose wrinkled. "I've been almost dead several times, all thanks to humans.." He had scoffed lightly and frowned deeply. When she offered to clean the meat for him, he eyed her suspiciously for a moment and then handed the rabbit to her, after deciding she probably wasn't going to run off with it, and even if she did, he could probably out run her and get it back. "...Okay...clean it.." His tone wasn't demanding, besides, she had offered.

" That doesn't mean all humans are bad, it means those humans are bad. If i hurt you would that mean all magical creatures are bad? That's not fair or logical Ikori, you'll bring yourself only pain thinking that way" She responded thoughtfully, glancing up at his face just in time to catch the suspicion. She rolled her eyes, saying nothing and pulling out the knife. She watched him a moment then chuckled and went to cleaning the meat. She would make short work of cleaning it, the rabbit wasn't too big anyway, using the largest bit of fur and skin to place the meat on like a plate.

As she finished she took reached into her bag to pull out a rag to clean her knife. She hated dirty tools, though she wasn't sure why. She would clean it slowly, making sure the knife was spotless. She didn't say anything more for the moment, just focusing on her tasks.

"..No...Maybe....I dunno...all the humans I meet are mean.." He watched her as she made quick work of the rabbit, licking his lips hungrily as she did. He seemed to get hungrier the more he watched, all the while he had started to change. Returning to his dog form, sitting on his haunches, that tail curled around his back legs and those eyes on the meat. When she was done, Ikori didn't hesitate to sink his muzzle into that meat. Half the rabbit was gone in moments..he was still hungry..but he was already changing back.

Sitting indian style and shirtless, Ikori wiped at his lips with his hands. He bit his bottom lip and looked longingly at the rest of the meat, then he looked to her. "...here..you can have some too..."

" I ate earlier so you can finish it if you want to... " She answered quietly, having watched him closely. She knew that look of hunger, no one would need to sacrifice for her again... it was unnecessary anyway as she'd had lunch before. She was an adept hunter and never went hungry... though earlier she'd mainly been eating fish. She gave Ikori a small smile then and reached over to pat his shoulder, " I take care of myself well dont worry.... was there anything you needed from that town?" She tilted her head to the side, watching him a moment in thought.

Ikori had changed again, and devoured the rest of the meat...he couldn't eat it raw in the other form, it always made his stomach hurt and he hated tummy aches..but it didn't take long, and he had changed back again. Wiping his mouth with his hands and not looking at her when he answered her question. "..No...I just wanted to see it.." He was a dog...dogs were supposed to be man's best friend...maybe that was the reason why he kept getting into those situations..he couldn't stay away from those mean, unstrustworthy humans..Something..he couldn't explain it..kept drawing him to their stupid cities with their stupid populations. He shivered lightly. "...It's a human city.."

Ti stayed quiet a moment, biting her lip. Finally she decided something, causing her sad eyes to brighten and their blue to become even deeper. "Well... that just means that we need to visit later okay?" She suggested with a grin, tilting her head to the side. She simply beamed at him, hoping her cheerfulness would bleed into him.