Winter Tundra (Ayami)

[Red XIII]

Limping through the snow, Nanaki looked for Snowy Village. The fiery red and orange dog-lion had come out here to resume his studies on planet life. There were many mysteries that rested out in the tundra. It was here that Red XIII had planned on investigating and hopefully discovering something new. It was rumored that, aside from strange monsters, that there was an ice or snow maiden that dwelled out there somewhere. It wasn't a doubt that if he found her, it would be a rare find.

Well, thanks to his curiosity, he did actually find what he had been looking for. It was much to his dismay though that he ended up engaging in battle with her. She had freaked out the moment she saw Nanaki's tail tip that had been aflame. Apparently, she was extremely vulnerable to the fire. Still, she should not have attacked him. Now, ashamedly, Red XIII knew very well what her fate had become when they had finished fighting. All he had done was cast Fire on her and she died on the spot. What a waste for such rare planet life! He hated to have done it but Nanaki knew better than to have just sat back and let her kill him.

So, now, here he was, limping along the snowy path back to Snowy Village. There, he could get some help hopefully with his wounds. Nanaki hadn't any potions or curative magic. That was why he was making his way excruciatingly through the icy snow to the village with one back foot that had been speared with an icicle and a front left paw that had received a nasty icy slash.

By the time he reached the village, Nanaki could go no further. The chill started to finally make someone as furry as he sleepy. Several feet away from the Inn, Red XIII fainted. Anyone that happened upon him would be surprised to find the creature sprawled on the ground with blood trailing from his wounds, reddening the snow.

[darkluvr4evr]

Ari shivered as she sat inside her little cottage home. She had a fire going, but it didn’t seem like it was making her any warmer. She hugged herself as she shivered, trying to get even warmer. She rubbed her ears and curled up her tail around herself, both ice cold. Yes, she had ears and a tail. She was known as a neko, a human with ears and a tail. As far as she knew, she was born like that, and had learned to live with it all her life. She had been made fun of, but she had gotten used to it, so the townspeople had given up trying to ridicule her. She just ignored them and it had ended up going away.

She sat down as close to the fire as she could get without burning herself, and grabbed a book that had been sitting on the end table next to her big comfy chair. She was glad that she didn’t have to work today. She would however have to go out of the town to go trade some things. She had hunted in the woods earlier, and she had caught some things. It was the only way that she survived, apart from buying things in the town. Her job as a waitress for the local cafe paid for those things, but just barely. She had considered getting a second job, but had decided against it. Right now she just didn’t have the time.

She sighed, knowing that she would have to get to the trading post sooner or later. She decided to go now and just get it over with. She put her book down and then got a pail of water. She threw it onto the fire, standing back as it hissed and sputtered, and then went out. She went to the closet and got on her coat, hat, mittens, etc. When she was all bundled up, she grabbed all that she was taking with her. She went out into the cold, already shivering. She closed the door and locked it behind her, then set out for the edge of town and the path that led to the trading post.

She hadn’t expected it to be this cold. She watched her breath steam out as she shuffled along. She didn’t think it would be that long of a walk, but she had been wrong. She hugged herself, trying to stay as warm as possible in the cold weather. She expected her walk to be like every other normal walk- slow, cold, and very boring. But that would not be the case. As she walked, something on the path ahead caught her eye, and she looked up. There, in the middle of the road, lay a beast.

She gasped, almost dropping her belongings. Instantly the wind whipped up, ruffling her hair, and she went into defense mode. She inched towards the beast, not even sure if it was alive or not. When she got a little closer, she could tell that it was breathing, so it was definitely alive. As she got even closer, she also noticed that the beast was wounded. She frowned, wondering what had happened to the poor creature in order for it to get the wounds that it had. She knelt down by it and stroked its fur. She decided to take him back to her house and help him. She tried to get him to move, but he was too heavy. She frowned, wondering if he could walk at all.

Words: 589
Muse: Great

[Red XIII]

Nanaki's consciousness was out for several minutes before some outside force made it return. Fading in and out of it, he opened his one good eye to look at what had just touched him. It had been a soothing feeling, nothing to be alarmed about just now. Blinking the blurred vision away as best he could, he saw someone's face looking over at him. It was to his surprise that the person seemed to have a tail.

He blinked again when the person bent over him and attempted to move him then. His size compared to what appeared to be a girl, there was no way she could lift him by herself. Showing signs of consciousness, Nanaki's tail's tip became more alight again to show he wasn't a normal creature.

Moving his head in the snow a bit to turn it and look over at the girl, he blinked a few times and tried to speak but nothing came, just a sigh of pain did. In attempts to move, Nanaki pushed himself up unsteadily on his one good forepaw. Hopefully, she would help him move and not run away from him in fear. Red XIII was a beast but he wasn't like the others.

As he did his best to get up, he struggled with his back end, his injured paw and leg making it difficult to move. After a good ten minutes of struggling, he was on his good feet but unsteady. Nanaki had lost a good bit of blood on the journey back here to Icicle Inn. Breathing hard, he looked up at the person whom had tried moving him earlier. Unlike most beasts found around the place, Red XIII didn't even bare his teeth at her. In fact, he merely gazed at her as if he were curious but obviously pained.

If she looked into his yellow and orange eye, she might have noticed something was different about him. That there was a sense of intelligence, like he knew that she meant him no harm and that he meant her no harm.

"H-Help...please!" he finally breathed.

[darkluvr4evr]

Ari contemplated how she was going to get him up so that he could walk to her house and be treated. He was about twice her size, and much heavier, so she knew she couldn’t do it alone. She looked around, shivering. There was no one in sight, which just made matters worse. She feared that if she didn’t help him soon, then he would die, and she would feel like it was her fault, even though she had just found him lying there. She swished her tail, biting her lip, worried about the wolf-creature that lay before her. She was running out of ideas- and time. She knew that if they stayed out in the cold too long, then he really would die.

She heard a soft rustle, and out of the corner of her eye she saw movement. A sign of life! She turned her head towards it, and realized that it was the creature’s head that had moved. So he was alive! She hadn’t been sure of it, seeing the amount of wounds he had and what shape he was in. She was glad that he was at least alive and breathing. She felt relieved that she wouldn’t have to bury a dead creature. She loved all animals, of all races, and this one was definitely not an exception. She decided she would do her best to try and heal him.

She noticed him getting up, and she wrapped her arms around him as best she could, leaning into him to support him. She could tell that he was favoring one of his back paws and one of his front paws as well. She could tell he was in pain, and it broke her heart to see him like this. That was one of the reasons that she wanted to help this poor creature. She wasn’t sure if she was much help, given the fact that he was twice her size, but it was the least she could do for him. She didn’t have any herbs or potions to heal him now, so she hoped that he could last till they got back to her little cottage.

She wanted to start walking, but she didn’t want to rush him and cause more pain. She probably had already done that just by leaning into him to help him stand. She wished that she could do more, and felt very helpless, a feeling that she hated with a passion. She was always kind to others and always willing to help, no matter what the situation. She always put others before herself, even when she was the one who needed the attention the most. She gasped suddenly when she heard him talk, but didn’t say anything. She nodded, and then got up the courage to speak. “I am trying, but you are bigger than I. You must try and bear it until we come upon my cottage. It is just down the road from here.” She nodded at the little house in the distance that had smoke coming out of the chimney.

Words: 515
Muse: Awesome!

[Red XIII]

Nanaki did his best to stay standing. His two legs supporting his body were weakened from the blood loss. Struggling to keep on his feet, he could feel some support. He wasn't tipping over since the girl was leaning into him, supporting his weight a bit. Red XIII was careful to not leave too much weight on her. He knew he was heavier than her and felt ashamed that he weighed so much that she'd struggle with helping him.

His ears perked toward her as she spoke. He could tell at first that she had been shocked that he could speak. Most people would either stare in shock or run, he was glad she wasn't the type that ran away. He didn't know what he'd do without help. His cell phone, he had unfortunately left behind in Cosmo Canyon. Even if he had it, he didn't think he'd be able to dial a phone number for help anyways.

He didn't think help would reach him fast enough either if he had called a friend. It was lucky someone even bothered to try and help him. Hearing her speak, he gave a quick nod in understanding.

He glanced down the road he had to travel through the snow again. Already he could tell how bad the pain in his feet were. It looked to him like her home was a thousand miles away. Of course, it wasn't really that far away but he knew the walk would be excruciating for him. 'I guess I'll have to bare with it for now!' he thought.

Breathing a bit laboriously, he prepared himself for the trek there. Finally, he looked at the girl with a tail and ears, he just now noticed like that of a cat's. "O-okay!" he said. Setting his one good paw before him, making a feeble hop, Nanaki made his first pace toward the cottage. His progress was very slow, the snow really tore into his already wounded paws and stung whenever he was forced to try and use them to move again.

He hadn't made it very far in a matter of a few minutes. The trail was just too painful for him as he paused, breathing in pain and struggling to keep afoot. 'It hurts so much!' he thought, finding it difficult to find the will power to keep going as he stood there, looking at how far he had gone. It hadn't been very far. Compared to the unhurt girl, he had gone but five paces total.

[darkluvr4evr]

Ari didn’t know how long he would be able to hold up, but she hoped that it would be for a while. It was a long walk, and a cold at that, so it was going to be hard. She braced herself for the worst. She thought about how she was going to house him and take care of him. The hard part would be finding a way to heal him without causing a rash or an allergic reaction. And not only that, but she was short on time as well. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she decided to do that when they were safe and warm inside the little cottage. She hoped that he didn’t mind a mess in her cottage. She didn’t think she would be saving a creature today.

She leaned more into it as he walked, struggling to keep him upright. He was very heavy, and she didn’t weigh all that much. She looked like an ant next to him, but she wasn’t the least bit scared. She wasn’t scared of this creature, but she really didn’t know why. She felt safe with him, although she couldn’t figure out why. His fur was warm and soft, and she buried her head in it for a minute. She then continued to help him walk, being careful that she didn’t step on his paws or grasp his fur too hard. Then again, he was huge, so she figured that even if she did step on his paw, it wouldn’t hurt him that much.

As she continued to help him, she looked ahead to make sure that they weren’t straying off the path. The target was well in sight, and in reality not that far away, but to her, and she figured to him as well, it appeared to be farther away than it actually was. She frowned, worried that they may not make it in team, or would be attacked by something. She could probably defend him with her powers, but if she was attacked by more than one, such as a pack of wolves, then both of them would definitely die.

She suddenly had an idea. Her powers! She almost did a facepalm. How could she be so stupid? It was so obvious! She hung onto him, but moved forward a little so that she was next to his face more. She wanted him to hear her so that he could decide what to do. She wanted his approval before she performed the magic, just in case he wasn’t comfortable with her performing magic on him. “I have an idea. I can perform wind magic, and possibly levitate you the rest of the way. However, it will take a lot of energy and focus, and I may be exhausted when we get to the cottage. Are you alright with this?” Her voice was soft and melodic, yet loud enough so that the creature could hear her clearly.

Words: 495
Muse: Great!

[Red XIII]

Red XIII reminded himself of the hardships he had gone through in life. Wounds like these, it would be embarrassing to die from. Nanaki die here? He wouldn't allow it! Still, his body wasn't cooperating with him. Even now, he could see how much of a struggle the walk was. Where he fought to keep from falling over, the girl was having one heck of a time keeping him stable just because of how much bigger he was to her in comparison.

"S-Sorry!" he apologized, his voice coming out a bit shaky because of how cold it was out here. He had fur to keep him warm but it was especially chilling even for the likes of him. Where her voice was melodic and clear, his was deep and seemed to hold a sort of accent to it. No one would know that he was actually in his teenage years according to his species.

As they had paused, him keeping in place for now as he was bracing himself for another struggle with the walk, he looked up at her when she spoke. Tilting his head a bit as he took the momentary breather, he listened to what she had to say. Wind magic? She would levitate him the way up then? Thinking about it, he didn't mind as long as he didn't get hurt in the process. Still, the act the other would end up exhausted because of him made him feel uncertain.

Then again, how else were they going to get there? If he kept struggling onwards at this rate, the cold could probably overtake him. There was no point in arguing at this point. "I don't mean to-to b-be too much trouble...b-b-but y-yes please?" he answered, his voice getting shaky by the minute. It was so darn cold out here!

[darkluvr4evr]

Ari noticed that he was struggling more and more. She knew that her idea was the best for both of them. It would ease some of his pain and help stop his wounds for the time being, and it would take the pressure of having to hold him up off of her. It seemed like the sensible solution for the both of them. She only hoped that she had enough willpower-and magic, to hold him up for that long of a time. She knew that it would be tough, but in order to help this poor creature, she would do it. She was unsure of herself, but she didn’t let him catch on. If he knew, then he might say no to her idea, and then they would never make it. She sighed, and then nodded.

His voice was shaky, and at that point, she knew that she had to get him to warmth, and fast. She had heard somewhere that a shaky voice was the first sign that hypothermia was setting in, and that was not good, especially since she wouldn’t be able to move him if he collapsed. She nodded and stood back, slowly backing away so that she eased the support away. She then closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were pure white. She chanted in an ancient language, and a bubble of warm air formed around the creature. She knew that this would also keep him warm, which was an added bonus.

She looked at him and, raised her hand. The bubble lifted off of the ground, and with it, the creature. She struggled, but she got him into the air. She then started pushing it along the path, but it took some effort. She knew that she was going to be exhausted, but if it meant helping another out, then it was worth it. She continued to push the bubble all the way to the cottage. She pushed it up the steps, and then opened the door with a whisk of her other hand. She pushed it into the room, shutting the door behind her, and set the bubble down gently, trying not to hurt him. She then collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. That had exhausted her so much. She breathed heavily, just lying there on the floor.

Words: 388
Muse: Pretty good

[Red XIII]

Red XIII started shivering, his teeth beginning to chatter as homeostasis struggled to sustain his body temperature. If this kept up any longer, Nanaki knew the next time he collapsed that he won't be getting back up again. Even now, it made him sleepy and he fought against it as best he could, occasionally forcing himself to hop a little on the spot to awaken himself.

He waited as the girl braced herself after receiving his answer. For a second there, he thought he sensed unease but couldn't focus enough to catch it. He focused his attention on the girl as her eyes turned pure white upon closing and opening them again. Just when his back legs gave out, the girl's powers kicked in. A warm air bubble suddenly surrounded him.

Curious, Nanaki turned his head to look about at the bubble he was in. It was hard to notice but there were indications strong winds surrounded him. Oddly enough, instead of being colder than the air about him, it was warmer. Immediately, Nanaki could feel his body's shivering ease down as time passed. Then, as she aimed her hand at him, Nanaki felt himself and the bubble lift into the air.

Not accustomed to seeing himself in suspended in the air like this with nothing exactly underneath him, he peered down in surprise. However, knowing the girl needed the utmost concentration, Red XIII did his best to keep as still as possible. He refrained from talking to her then lest she lose her focus and drop him by mistake.

It took a little bit of time but nothing compared to how long it might've taken Nanaki to limp through the snow alone. Before long, she had managed to push him all the way to her cottage and opened the door with her power. Then, she managed to just gently set him on the floor before collapsing onto the floor.

Red XIII was surprised at the gentle, soft landing. However, he felt ashamed when he saw the girl collapse in exhaustion, breathing heavily when she rested on the floor from having strained herself. "AA-Are you...alright?" he questioned from afar. His back legs wouldn't pick him up anymore for now, his front on just barely keeping him up. He would not rest until he was certain the other was fine.

[darkluvr4evr]

Ari lay there for a while, breathing heavily. She hadn’t thought that this job would be so difficult. And yet, it had been worth it. She was glad to have helped this poor creature out, but she knew that the adventure was just beginning. It would be a long recovery for the poor beast, and a challenge for her to find the right herbs that would heal him, and yet would not cause an allergic reaction or a rash of some sort. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up. She looked around the room, starting to think of what herbs she should try first. She knew of one mixture that would help to heal some of his wounds, but not all of them. She knew that it would be safe and would work effectively. She just hoped that it would help him, and that he wasn’t allergic to any of the herbs.

She looked towards him and nodded. “I’ll be alright. I should be asking you the same question.” She smiled and stood up. She held her head and steadied herself. She had gotten up too fast. When she felt good and her dizziness went away, she went to her cabinets and began to rummage through. She grabbed a few herbs, and then grabbed some more, shutting the door with her foot. She walked over to a table and set everything down carefully. She then went back to the cabinets, and grabbed some more things. She made sure she had everything she needed, and then went back over to the table. She set the other things down, and then arranged them in a certain order.

She turned on the stove that was next to the table, and while it heated up, she got some water and poured it into the pan. When that got to boiling, she started adding the ingredients, some being powders and others being leaves. They all blended together, creating a sour smell. She made a disgusted face, and then threw in a little something extra. Soon a sweet smell filled the cottage, and she smiled. She would have to let that boil for about five minutes. She hoped that he could hold out just a little bit longer.

Five minutes later the remedy was done. She took it off of the burner and stirred it repeatedly. After doing so for about five minutes, the mixture became like a paste, and she smiled. She walked over to him, and set the pot down, being careful since it was still hot. She then took a spoon and held it over the pot. “Get ready. It is hot and will sting a little, but it should ease the pain and heal the wound. Try not to move much so that the paste doesn’t fall off. Otherwise you won’t heal.” She slathered it on, smoothing it over all of his wounds. She then took some antiseptic and treated the smaller wounds. After the paste had dried, she went to the cabinet and got out some bandages. She wrapped his back leg and his front paw up, and then taped some more over the wounds with the paste. When she was done, she stepped back and admired her work. She had done a pretty good job. She smiled at him. “Feel better?”

Words: 550
Muse: Awesome!

[Red XIII]

Nanaki watched as the girl sat up, answering his question. He was relieved that she would be fine and not exhausted the rest of the day on the kind of him. Seeing that he didn't have to worry anymore, Red XIII carefully sat on his haunches. His tail tip he was particularly keen of keeping off the floor seeing as it contained flames on it. He hadn't ever set anything on fire with it before by mistake but he wasn't going to ever grow careless despite knowing this.

Keeping his injured hind foot in the air to not put weight on it, he peered back at her. "I will be alright. I sustained these wounds from a fight but nothing fatal. It's thanks to you these wounds did not cause me to die of hypothermia outside." He had respectfully inclined his massive wolfish-feline head in gratitude to the helpful girl.

It was a great relief to him to no longer be out in that biting, chilling weather anymore. Any longer and he would've died. 'This is the last time I travel without a contact and without healing implements!' he thought ashamedly. Already, he was inwardly beating himself up for being foolish. Still, he didn't think the ice maiden would have attacked him either. He had thought that she would've had sense not to attack him seeing as she held a certain intelligence to her but it was a pity that she proved him wrong. Now, there was no more ice maiden and he was unfortunately the one who did it.

Politely, he remained in the place where she had left him. Red XIII knew better than to go wandering around in someone's home, especially when he was wounded and could leave a trail of blood after him. So, where he sat was where he stayed as he watched the girl get up and head off. What she was doing, he wasn't sure. Still, he was smart enough to deduce that she might be gathering things to help him with. So, for the time being, he stayed put. It wasn't like he could move around anyway.

His injured flesh, where it had stopped bleeding a little, thawed again and started to lightly drizzle once more. Leaning down, Nanaki examined his paw. Like any animal would do, he licked it. Unlike human saliva, his held a certain antiseptic to it that fought off infection. Once he had finished with his front leg, he proceeded to continue with his other. It stung a lot but the blood didn't get on the floor so there wasn't much of a mess for the girl who helped him to worry about.

A sudden foul smell drifted through the air. It was so bad that it stopped Nanaki from licking his wounds to cover his nose with his one front good paw. It was truly a sour smell. Just from the bitter smell, he knew what she was cooking. Some sort of herbs were being prepared. So, the girl was an herbalist? That was interesting. His people back home didn't do that anymore. They used to but not anymore, never before did Red XIII think he'd encounter something like this once again in his life.

Nanaki laid down where he was to give his legs a rest. As he did so, five minutes later the girl returned carrying a pot. Lifting his ears a bit curiously, Nanaki lifted his head to peer down at it. There appeared to be some sort of paste. Listening to her speak, Nanaki nodded in understanding. A little sting wouldn't bother him so much as would a physical attack so he'd bare with it. Extending his wounded limbs for her to better get at, he squeezed his eye shut feeling the first sting as she began to slather it all over his injuries.

By the time she was finished, Nanaki had paste all over his paws over the wounds. No blood peeked out from it. Then, she bandaged him up and before long, Red XIII was well tended to. He didn't move his now well bandaged paws for now. However, he did give the girl a smile. "Thank you for your help. I am most grateful."

Looking at her, he wondered how she got a cat tail and ears. He hadn't seen a human with those before. Still, politely, he wouldn't ask her what she was. That sort of thing was rude. Then again, she too might've wondered what the heck he was too. Nanaki's species didn't really have a name since humans hadn't ever been able to figure out a name for his kind just yet. "May I ask what your name is? I am Nanaki." He didn't introduce himself with his specimen name that Hojo gave him. That name no longer applied to him and all it did was remind him of the things the scientist had done to him.

[darkluvr4evr]

Ari nodded at him. She wondered what fight he had gotten into and what could have caused his wounds to be that bad. She looked him over. He was huge, so it must have taken something larger than him, or maybe a pack of some sort, to injure him as badly as he was. She shook her head. She shouldn’t be worrying about what had attacked him. They were both safe and warm now, that’s all that mattered. She just wished that she knew what had attacked him so that she might go and hunt them down to prevent it from happening again. She never wanted another creature, especially one as big and beautiful as this one, to be as badly injured as he had.

She blushed a little when he thanked her. She wasn’t used to compliments, so when she received the compliment, it made her feel good. Since she lived in a small town, there were few people who knew her, so she received very few compliments. Her tail swished happily, and her ears perked up a little. She smiled at him. She was glad that he put his paws out when she was taking care of him. It made treating him so much easier, and it made less mess as well. She saw that one of the bandages was loose, and wet to go fix it. She then stroked his head. She loved the feel of his fur running through her fingers. It was soft, and very warm. She loved it.

She smiled back at him, glad that she had found him. At least she had some company now. She had spent most of her life alone, and now she wasn’t. It made her so happy. She walked around him, looking at him, keeping careful distance from his fire tail. She frowned. She wondered what exactly he was. She noticed some scarring on his body, but the one that interested her the most was the one above his left paw that red XIII. Thirteen in roman numerals. She frowned. She wondered what that meant. She then went to the front and sat down in front of him, close to his head. She wanted to pet him, and she hoped that he didn’t mind.

“You are most welcome sir. I only hope that your wounds heal quickly. I hate to see injured creatures like you, and not be able to help. It just breaks my heart if I can’t help.” She smiled and stroked his head again. “My name is Ariwara Kaori. If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you?” She wasn’t sure if he was a wolf, or a dog, or a lion. Maybe he was all three. She wondered if he was born this way, or if he had been created. She had heard of experiments before, but she had never come across one, at least, she didn’t think she had unless this one was an experiment. “If you do not wish to answer, then say so and I shall drop the subject.” Sometimes she was too nosy for her own good, and it got her into trouble often.

Words: 528
Muse: Awesome!

[Red XIII]

Nanaki knew his big paws would've been hard to tend to if he didn't extend them for her to get at. It was a lucky thing he was intelligent. A beast that didn't understand wouldn't have sat still long enough to even allow this sort of thing unless they were really hurt. Even though he was a very smart creature, he didn't really mind it when the girl stroked his fur. After all, he was still sot of a beast despite being able to speak the human tongue and was far more intelligent than any human.

He could sense that she was puzzled by his appearance, either that or she was double checking for any wounds she might've missed. All Red XIII could do was just remain in place as she looked him over. It wasn't long until she spoke to him, after her eyes had lingered on his tattoo from Hojo for a short moment.

"It's nice to meet someone as kind hearted as you, Ariwara Kaori." Then came the question that he was so used to hearing. What was he? That was a very good question.

"Unfortunately, no one knows what to call my kind. My species comes from a place called Cosmo Canyon. We are only found there, a rare species that is that canyon's guardians. People tend to think we are a species between lions and wolves because of our appearances and abilities to not only roar but howl or bark and even growl." He nodded when finished saying that. Still, he knew after she helped him out that she also deserved an explanation as to what happened with him back there in the winter tundra.

"I have come out this way because of having promised my late grandfather that I would study all there is to know about Planet life. I had come because rumor had it there was an ice maiden living in this tundra." He paused for a moment to breathe. "Unfortunately, where I did manage to meet her, she did not like fire and attacked me. I could not reason with her and was forced to defend myself..." he trailed off, feeling pity at what he had done.

"I am ashamed to say here might not be an ice maiden anymore."

[darkluvr4evr]

Ari listened to the creature’s story. He was a unique one, that was for sure. However, she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to be rude and seem nosy, nor did she want to interrupt him. He seemed comfortable just sitting there, telling his story. She listened to him intently, eager to know where he had come from and what he had done. It seemed he had traveled a great journey to get here to find the ice maiden. She frowned. She was debating whether to tell him that the Ice Maiden was her mother. She had gotten her powers from her father, who had been a wind bender. Sure, she could bend a little bit of ice, but that was it. She always listed herself as an orphan because she was ashamed of her mother. Her mother was known as being cruel and merciless, and this beast before her was a perfect example of it.

Again she blushed from his compliment, her tail swishing back and forth. She was liking all of these compliments that he was giving her. She wasn’t used to them, but she liked getting them. She hoped there were many more to come. She nodded at his story, still sincerely interested in hearing about it. She cocked her head in a cute way when she heard him talk about his home land. She had never heard of it, but it sounded very interesting to her, and now she wanted to go there. She had wanted to travel the world before, but had never gotten enough money, supplies, or even time to do so. She wondered if this creature, once he was well, would help her to travel places.

She contemplated what he had said, and then her eyes went wide. “Wait…when you say that there isn’t an Ice Maiden anymore…do you mean that you killed her?” If he had, then she would not have a mother anymore. It would sadden her, but she would live. She had lived without her parents for this long, she could go the rest of her life without them. She just hoped that he hadn’t completely destroyed her mother. If he had, then that meant that Ari would be the new Ice Maiden, and that would be a problem. She then remembered the marking that was on his hind leg. “Why do you have the number thirteen in roman numerals on your hind leg?” She found it odd that such a marking would be there.

Words: 415
Muse: Great!

[Red XIII]

Nanaki wasn't sure how to answer that sudden question about the Ice Maiden. Why did she sound worried? He didn't question her back bout that though. Honestly, Nanaki wasn't exactly sure if he had actually killed her or just merely rendered her incapacitated. Thinking back on it, he didn't use any fire attacks on her despite the wounds she had inflicted on him. There was a good chance she could still be alive. However, he didn't think he'd like to go back and check. It was clear she didn't want to have his company.

"I'm not really sure...I didn't use fire attacks on her when defending myself but...then again, I'm not sure if she is alive or not." He shrugged his beast-like shoulders. He honestly didn't know. At the time, all he cared about was fending for himself and getting away after she inflicted the first wound on him.

He didn't know that Ariwara was related to the Ice Maiden he had met. If he did, he would've felt even guiltier about what happened. Red XIII never intended to do the Ice Maiden harm originally and merely acted when she attacked him first. Gently, he slid his tail to the side a bit to come closer toward his back feet, careful to keep the fiery tip from catching anything on fire as he did so.

Red XIII's eye widened a little when Ariwara suddenly questioned him about the roman numeral tattoo on his shoulder. His number still remained there to this day. Nanaki knew there wasn't anything he could do to remove it. He had no means of doing so. "That number...is a number that had been engraved into my skin from a mad scientist who had experimented on me..." he answered her truthfully even though the truth still bothered him. The room went very quiet after he had said it.