Walking Shade

The spirit of a lion tredded quietly across the grasses of the forest, its outstretched pace bringing it close and low to the ground, though every one of its muscles was tensed and had it ready to spring into action when need be. Those said muscles were buldging throughout the lion's body, hidden under a layer of crimson fur. Its nose sniffed the air in front of it lightly, confirming the scent of a lesser spirit just ahead. Confirming the scent of prey.

Throughout this section of the wood, his name had been established as a guardian of his own specific territory. Boruha Takashou was the creature's name, and it had just found its next meal trampling through his territory. He came to an area where the ground sloped downward some, and he came to stand at the crest of a small hill overlooking a brief clearing of trees below. Within that clearing, Takashou sighted the slipping of a wormy tail into the masses of trees once more. This hunt would be over swiftly, Takashou decided, suddenly leaping from its stalking crawl and bounding into a chasing pace after the thing. Coming to a point where the spirit ahead was visible, he saw it was a giant rat yokai. Not exactly a treat for a morsel, but a rough sustenance. The lion would be forced to settle with it, either way, as his territories had seen little of prey today.

The giant rat had a stink about it that the lion used as a beacon to his scents, using his powerful legs to make up for the distance. The wormy tail came within sight again and the giant rat paid notice to its stalker for the first time. The lion used its forelegs to lunge itself off of the ground and towards the thing, clamping sets of sharp fangs down into the skin of the rat, just behind its ear. Coming down from the lunge, the lion landed on the ground and brought the rat's head down with it, slamming the other spirit down into the dirt. It dropped a claw over the rat's head, pressing down with it while releasing its hold with its teeth. That was only until it bared those fangs once more down onto the back of the rat's neck, tearing out skin and flesh until the thing lay still.

Once done with the meal, the spirit's nose began to pick up on a different scent. He was nearly outside his own areas now, but the smell had a uniqueness to it that would rouse curiousity to any nose a virgin to such a thing. Standing up and deciding it would be good to get a walk after such a meal, he moved through the forest in the direction of the smell.

The lion paused for a moment in its treck, taking a couple more sniffs of the air. Whatever it was, it was growing in mass and giving off that strong, dank kind of smell. However, it seemed like it would be some ways still and he was all ready off his own lands from quite a ways. Not that the spot was up for much threat of being taken over, though. The spirit normally wouldn't be worried, but that was beside the feeling that returning would have been the better choice. Surely it was only a manner of paranoia.. besides, the strength of the scent was something new, something that attracted and repelled all at once. There would be other times to investigate, he knew, marking the spot well, as he turned back and retraced his steps back in a light run.

Takashou slowened his pace once he began to notice more familiar grounds, his declared territory. The lion moved between the trees, a destination in mind as it moved with a mission in its walk. The trees would eventually begin to grow scarce and further in between, before coming to a spot where the trees ceased to be at all. The grass here was brown, dead as opposed to the rest of the forest around it. The lion continued to move towards the middle of the area where there, stabbed within the earth, was a large sword, a monument of sorts.

He was drawn to this place by some unknown force. Takashou wasn't bothered by this obvious unnatural compulsion, though, for it pleased him to safeguard this place while he could, before he continued to push his territories. How far, then.. a good question. The lion laid down in front of the sword, resting its head in a crossed pair of paws. It was unable to sleep though, suddenly realizing that there was something amiss.

Takashou stood up and took some movements forward, smelling at the air once more, picking out the latest intruder. He emitted a low growl before moving off on the hunt.

The lion was getting warmer, he knew, for the scent was growing stronger as he had begun a full speed sprint from the monument of the giant sword. The sound of crunches against the shriveled, dead grass would change to the soft pads and swishes of green, healthy blades of grass, and the trees began to reappear, though most were dead in the area surrounding that great sword. Takashou slowed down, understanding that he didn't want to alert his prey of his presence once he got close. He brought his head low to the ground while continuing to proceed forward quietly. This area smelled the strongest of the thing. It had to be somewhere around here. It hadn't been the first time something hid from him, but then, it was only a matter of time before he would find the cowarding spirit. It opened its mouth, as a small tiny red orb appeared in the center, floating in the air as if by magic. It began to expand and flare out, a fyreball being prepared.

The lion took a step back in alarm as this thing had suddenly lashed from seemingly nowhere and wrapped around his snout. Takashou struggled against the thing, keeping his mouth only barely open to keep the fyreball spell intact. There was a brief moment where he stretched the bind outwards enough and the fyreball shot into being in front of him, flying through the air before coming into contact with one of the dead trees. The thing had its branch blasted off of it, while the tree itself bursted into flame, the dry bark fueling its own death. Takashou snarled and thrashed his head about as the bind had fully clamped his mouth shut. He knew where the magic had come from though, judging by the direction it had entered his vision. Turning his head to another tree, he looked to the base first while issuing out a growl, the only sound he could muster at the moment. His eyes moved upwards, looking to spot whatever was trespassing within his wood, though unable to set the tree aflame because of the bind. Reminded of the thing, the lion snarled again and used his paws to try to remove the thing.

The situation was growing worse as his legs came to be bound now, the lion growled and resisted the pull though now he could see the black fox that was responsible for this. It spoke to him.. as if he were able to answer the thing back. In response he wrinkled his nose and managed enough space in his mouth to bare his fangs, a low growl vibrating from the back of his throat. The thing must have been playing with him, asking these questions rhetorically. It wanted to take his land! The lion was inspired with a new rage, working to break that chain around his mouth, yearning to roar and burn the creature down where it layed.

The chain that bound his snout down was removed and the lion felt more relief knowing that it could at least have access to the simpler things like fyreballs and talking. "You would dare.." The lion began, an anger supressed in his voice, something he was working to fight even this instant, to allow a more rational mind speak now. "These are my lands. I cannot let you take them!" Takashou proudly declared, his eyes then downcasting towards the ground. "There is something important here that I must protect." The great blade in the clearing, surrounded by the death of vegetation, came to mind once more. What sort of hold did it have on him? It didn't matter to him, not at this point, for his home and plans of territorial expansion were all centered around it.

The black fox was offering assistance in protecting his land? It would have been an easy gain, but his prideful nature would be wounded from such a thing. Losing this battle alone was a stab at that very nature, unable to break through these chains that the other had so simply conjured. It seemed to be pretty strong, in magical abilty at the least. "What you see before you is what I am." The lion replied, bowing its head a little. It sniffed the air briefly and its gaze shot forward towards the area of the great sword, suddenly in alarm. It turned its head over its shoulder, turning his eyes towards the black fox, though his mane wouldn't allow him the peak of vision. "You must release me, immediately! I will not strike you, I swear it."

Takashou couldn't keep a calm mood at the casual attitude of the black fox, of its patience in the face of this threat to the sword. It was an unprecedented thing to happen in this forest, for them to appear in the heart of his territory without him noticing until only this point. The spirit cursed itself for having gone after this black fox.. especially with the trouble that it was bringing it now. "There's no time for this!" The lion snarled in response, suddenly lunging forward in the direction of his destination. The side of its body struck against the ground, its legs bound and useless.

Its eyes darted around, looking for some way out. There was only one, he knew, and he would have to clear his mind and communicate with this thing. Whatever the hell it was talking about, Takashou didn't give much a care, interupting someways in it. "Use the land, damned fox.. but don't dare touch the sword! Now free me from these binds, I must reach it in time!" The lion roared out, keeping his gaze forward to the business needed attended. Unfortunately, he couldn't exact any revenge on this damned thing even if he wanted. Not unless he was willing to face these binds again.

There was no time wasted once the binds had lost their magic and hold on him. He sprung into action, on his feet almost instantly and bounding off in the direction of the sword, his mane flowing against his shoulders with the wind that was caught against the fur. His powerful legs worked to make it on time, as his nose confirmed the scent of humans. The trees grew scarce and the grass was suddenly dead. Brown, shriveled, and dry. In the middle of the clearing there had once been a sword, but now only the sliced ground of the land would prove its previous being there. All was not lost, though, as the lion continued with the scent, crossing the entirety of the dead clearing and coming into some forest once more. There were three of them, up ahead, adventurers or pillagers, it didn't matter to him. The anger bursting within him was resounded in the form of a great roar.

The humans froze briefly, before turning to regard the sound. The first and closest was taken down suddenly, the lion spirit ontop of it, its claws raked into the man's chest and its teeth clamped down onto his neck. From the corner of his eye, Takashou spotted the raising of a sword from one of the other humans and he was forced to remove himself off the other's body. It seemed that one had died quick as surprise had been on his side. No longer, though, and these two were obviously not weak humans to be this deep in the forest. "Eh, this demon here took out Carl!" "That's all right, this musta been the fella's second demon hunt. Just a rookie." "Good point. What do you think this thing wants?" "It could just be attacking randomly.."

"Return the sword." Takashou stated, taking a step forward towards the two. "Oh? It wants this thing, eh?" The other human held out the sword in one hand. He examined it for a bit. "Nothing too special bout it, but it'll fetch an all right price. Yer gonna have to fight for this, lion, 'cause I been missing a month's rent. Demon hunting ain't the same business as it used to be." The lion growled and lowered itself while the humans drew their weapons.

"Wicked ice, forge into blade!" The human with the sword in hand called out, chanting a spell that granted him another sword in the other hand, one composed of ice. The very thought of that human using his sword, to top off the disgraceful theft of it, was enough to push the lion pass new rages. The humans had taken the thing the lion held most valuable to him, practically all that he was within that blade, and he didn't know why. He didn't need to.

The human with the two swords took a step forward, then reconsidered at the sight of a fyreball. He shifted his weight into the toes of that outstretched foot and pushed off from the ground and sending himself backwards, allowing the blast of fire to destroy the grass and dirt just in front of him. "Damn beastie." The other human took this chance to swing his blade downwards at the lion after it had shot off the fyreball. The blade was aimed more towards his hide, but a swift step to the side with only his hind legs manuevered him out of the sword's way. A fyreball blasted point blank into the man that missed and sent him off of his feet and onto the ground, his clothes smoldering and set aflame at places. The blast wasn't lethal though. Still, the man paniced at the burn and patted himself out swiftly, yelping out and rolling on the ground occassionally.

It was as good as a buyer of time as any. Better to face one than two, any day. Takashou thought to pounce on the man who had been hit by the fire had it not been for the dual wielding other. No doubt he would take advantage of such an opening. So it was up to him to take him out before the other recovered. Besides, this one was stronger.. had to have been the leader to have the sword in his possession. His sword.

Growling at the reminder, the lion had forgotten about the black fox at this point and hadn't been expecting aid of any kind. He was used to fighting his own battles. Snarling, the lion lunged forward again. "Wicked ice, forge into shield!" The human shouted once more, holding the blades in front of him as ice began to form and thicken in front of him, a shield being set in place between the two. The lion tilted its head low then whipped it forward, shooting off a fireball that burned through and melted the shield, along with the ice sword in the man's hands. The next thing that followed was the pounce of the nearly six hundred pound beast of muscle, its fangs digging down into the lethal area of the neck. With the size of its teeth, it would be hard to miss the jugular.

Turning towards the other man, who was beginning to finally recover, another fyreball set the man aflame and rolling once more. He fled before the lion could bring claw and fang to him. Takashou allowed the human to run, as it had retrieved the sword back.

The lion shook its head, and only gave that much as an answer. There was no way it could communicate its feelings to the black fox, not when they were as much a mystery to himself. On the blade, though, he noticed something he did not before, an emblem crested midway down the metal. It was something that had always been covered by the dirt it was stabbed into. On it, there was a winged-lion. Takashou tilted his head to the side, inquisitively at the thing. Images suddenly rushed into his head.

The darkness in the forest was complete during the night. The only illumination provided was by the moon ahead, casting a soft glow to whatever areas hadn't been shrouded by the abundance of trees. They were running, a set of three. Eventually they came to a spot where the grass was no longer green and it crackled beneath their feet, breaking apart the dry shriveled stuff. A man with mid-length, red hair was among them, the person that was he in the vision. Takashou. Or, as he was called then, Shou.

"Asame.. you have to keep going. Both of you, please." Shou stated, wincing at the shot of pain that went up his leg. He had been stressing it too much and the wound had only opened more, allowing blood to drench the leg of his pants.

The other was a woman, Asame by name, and he always knew he would die protecting her. "No! I can't!" She began, but a strong grip from behind grabbed her by the shoulder, the hand of her father. The man nodded in Shou's direction, and hushed Asame, urging her to come, explaining that this was the only way possible. She continued to disagree but time was urgent, and the father took his daughter away by force.

Takashou was left alone in the clearing, looking towards the blackness of the forests as the sounds of the screeching demons approached ever closer. "And here I make my last.." The memory faded.

Where the lion had once been now stood the human form of Takashou, the red-haired warrior that had fallen at that clearing, the original owner of the blade the lion had protected with its life. His hand was gripping the hilt of the blade tightly, as if expecting some sort of fight, but relaxed once he was fully aware of the memory's passing.

"Eh..?" Shou looked to the blade in his hand, then narrowed his eyes at it and threw it to the ground. "What a stupid thing to protect. All that time.. peh, wasted." His eyes darted around before finding the black fox. "Ah, you. That's right. You wanted to use this land for something.. what'd you say for again?"

"A merchant of happiness and escape.." Shou repeated the words slowly and carefully. So this person was a drug dealer. Shou didn't have a problem with that, considering this lady must be getting a certain amount of money in these sales of hers. At the time, he was finally inverting his attention to himself and his human form, inspecting his hands, arms, even his backside down to his own rear. Everything was as he remembered it, though his hair length had increased. It was wild around him, falling down and resting against his shoulders, even on his chest. The length of the hair that went down his back nearly made it to his waist. Perhaps it had something to do with his being a lion..

Shou averted his attention back to the black fox, and the corners of his lips upturned into a smile. "I would join you. If you allowed it." The other was an oni, just like himself. Stronger, even. And now that he was no longer deluded with the absurd goal of guarding a sword he had once used, there was spare time to be had. "My name is Boruha Takashou. If it's too much of a mouthful, you can just call me Shou." The nickname held familiarity to it, and he would continue to use it.

The other oni chose to reveal its human self too, Shou noticed, and held her hand out towards him. He took it up in his own grip, recognizing the gesture. "No.. the sword only entranced me when I was unaware of its origins. I remember it all now, though. In truth, it's a weak sword befitting for the weak human that wielded it." The spirit then rose an eyebrow, his eyes scanning the woman up and down. "You will, of course, have to tell me how you morphed with clothes." Shou crossed his arms over his chest, continuing to study the attire of the woman while continuing to show no shame in his lack thereof.

The spirit lightly sighed, realizing he must have messed up the initial transformation then. Next time, he would have to remember himself properly with details on his clothing. It was too bad that he didn't have some right now, for he felt eyes on his privates. Oh well, allow her the look, he figured. He'd let enough of those remarks fly by that they no longer took any effort to simply ignore, for he had no interest in this woman, sexually. "Well, I don't get the news out here." Shou simply replied. He glanced over to one of the dead bodies from earlier, one with only partially burnt clothings. They would do.

Surprisingly, the pants were perfectly intact, untouched by the flame. The shirt had taken the hit of the force, though, rendered useless, and Shou saw no use in the boots of the man, leaving them on the grass. Putting them on, he started to move around in them a bit, then lifted a leg and kicked outwards into the air. The demon smirked, noting the increase in strength since the attainment of this human form. This was great news. This area, this territory that he called his own seemed so small now. There was so much more out there, in The Deep of the forest. Shou would need to start moving faster.. if only he hadn't wasted so much time in that trance.

"Grunty, right? How bout we leave this place.. I'm a little tired of it after being here so long."

Shou nodded in response, coming to walk beside the woman. "A few miles? Hmm.. that's nothing."

3,709 Words.

1,500 Words - Ascenscion Quest - Spiritual Impression Quest - 1,500 Exp

2,000 Words - Training 4 stars on Fyreball

209 Exp - 1,709 Exp total.

+2 TEXP.

Updated Shou

Updated Grunty