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Post by tali on Feb 28, 2008 6:56:54 GMT -5
It took a lot to keep her from shoving him into a bush, he really deserved it, and if she wasn't going to kill him, she doubted she could go that far, she wanted too annoy him in someway, if it were her sister she'd pinch her or hide things in her clothes but this was more serious then hiding ones things or tattling about a misdeed done to parents. He;d just ended someones life, didn't he? she saw glimpses of him fighting, he wasn't trying to protect himself from anything, he was killing for the sake of it, that was wrong, wasn't it?
With a sigh of irritation she got next to him helping his arm around her shoulder and her hand around his back to his waist. She didn't think he should be walking on his own. Honestly what could she do? She didn't know the whole truth, he was hurt, people were dead, another bruise wouldn't make him repentful. Giving him a bit of support she glared up at him, it didn't mean she still couldn't be upset. He thought she was casing birds, it was so bitter she could almost laugh.
IT wasn't blue birds or even green birds she was hunting, it was red and she'd already found one, he was large annoying and deadly as far as she could tell. Training her eyes ahead and focusing on handling his weight she shook her head. " I'm looking for the closest place with medical supplies, not that your sash isn't doing a lovely job."
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Post by iikagen on Feb 28, 2008 10:32:32 GMT -5
Iikagen produced a slight giggle when the girl managed to slip under his arm and place a hand around his waist for support. "Dat tickles," he muttered quietly. It really didn't affect him at all, but he could tell this girl was entirely susceptible to his strange behavior. The two kept on walking, and Iikagen took full advantage of his new crutch by transferring a good portion of his weight onto her shoulders.
Her next remark was a bit strange, though. She wanted healing supplies, yet she commented on his own make-shift bandaging. What was she, some kind of travelling medic who just wanders the forest looking for the sick and injured? Iikagen wondered if she was really this nasiive or if she just had a compulsive need to stop bleeding wounds, even if they were miles away and at night.
"De nearest town's back dat way," he told her, referring to the location of some actual medical supplies, "But de nearest clean water and cloths are up ahead."
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Post by tali on Feb 28, 2008 14:48:55 GMT -5
At the comment of him being ticklish she gripped her fingers into his side hoping to get some small satisfaction out of a wince or a groan, he had a bleeding cut in his chest and he was acting like he was on a picnic. Normally she;d be amused, joke around maybe with this sort of person but seeing what she did and feeling how she was it just made her steer a little towards violence, at least she wanted to. Everyone deserved a chance, or at leas a day in court, no one deserved to die in the middle of the forest and despite the man's jokes she felt he was rather close to the latter.
Glancing at his expression before rolling her eyes she decided to ignore any further banter out of his mouth, it seemed that would be best for her own sanity, and she already had enough blood on her hands, she didn't desire to add anymore. Her eyes trained ahead looking for a shack, a house a stream, anything really. She did her best to ignore the oder from his body, she didn't know if it was the blood or what but something smelled like days old meat. He seemed a littke scruffy on top of that, how long had he been in the woods.
Adjusting to compensate for the added weight to her movements she wondered how far back the village was, they wouldn't make it there she was afraid. She really wanted to get back, at least collect her things, she hoped they wouldn't toss them out. " Well then water and clothes will do won't they?" Her voice still kept a bitter bite to it, that was something that couldn't be helped, in her reasoning he was still dangerous, which was just why she had to keep an eye on him.
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Post by iikagen on Feb 28, 2008 18:42:44 GMT -5
"Seems dey will," Iikagen responded somewhat quickly, "and watch out for de snare." He ushered his living crutch to the side to avoid a tree he recognized as the location for one of his animal traps. They weren't too far off from his little encampment. And after about 5 more minutes of travel they finally reached the patch of the forest Iikagen called home.
"Dis is it," he informed the girl, breaking off from her for a moment in order to tend to a starved fire that he'd left burning hours ago. The three logs that had started with their ends aflame were barely keeping an ember alive, but with some gentle coaxing and a little more kindling Iikagen had the flames building back up again. He rolled another log into the pit to give it som more fuel and then moved over toward the main tree that held all of his recent spoils.
"Hmmmm," he thought out loud. Until this point he was acting as though he didn't even have a guest. He hadn't even looked toward the girl since they reached his camp, but it seemed like now he needed her help. "I need joo to reach de packs and supplies i got up in dis tree," he told her. "Just toss everyt'ing down."
It wasn't much of a 'please,' but at de moment he didn't see a need. If the girl was intent on turning him into the authorities, she should have done it a while ago. And even if she was still biding her time, Iikagen didn't quite have the luxury of playing games. His sarong was soaked with blood and needed to be replaced with something more permanent before he lost consciousness.
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Post by tali on Feb 28, 2008 19:21:27 GMT -5
Snare? Her new found leech drifted her off of the path away from a tree, as they passed she noticed a thin wire across the ground, it reminded her of the one she found earlier. Now it was starting to come together. He set up the traps through out the forest, he was trying to keep his presence out here secret. She cast a wary look to him trying to figure out what was going on in that little head of his. Something told her that she might not want to know.
The trees parted to a small break in the forest. Tali watched quietly as he went about his small camp, so this was what he called home? At least she could hear running water, it was encouraging. Her eyes trailed him as he stirred up the fire what was in the center of the clearing, living out in the wilderness didn't seem to take too much effort for him. Honestly she was a small bit amazed, not only at his adaptability but at the fact that he wasn't knocked out yet. He was loosing a lot of blood.
Looking up into a tree she noticed something was stuck up in it, at least she thought... but his statement confirmed her suspicions. Rolling her eyes and quickly stretching she began to make her way up into the tree. She wasn't as tall as he was, she found it difficult to get up to the first branch but once that was passed it was easy enough to continue to where the bags were. Diligently she looked through the backs tossing down the ones she could reach, leaving the others. So he was the one stealing peoples bags, as far as she knew all the victims of spirit attacks lived to tell the tales, the bags were oddly clean of blood, so why would he want to kill the men earlier, it didn't make sense.
Looking down carefully from the branch she grimaced, it was high, but not enough to kill her, she could climb down, or she could jump, she jumped landing on her feet though her knees weren't locked upon impact, she wound up landing in a crouch. Forgoing standing back up she took a moment to stop her head from spinning. She began to go through the packs looking for anything useful. She tossed out a canteen and a bottle of alcohol from one pack, some cloth from another. Shaking her head she tossed what looked like someones fushido into the bushes in disgust... " maybe you should sit down."
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Post by iikagen on Feb 28, 2008 19:53:28 GMT -5
Iikagen was well ahead of her by the time she had suggested he take a seat. After she had hopped down from the tree, he was already falling back into a restful position at the roots. He let out a grunting noise as he reclined, feeling all of his injuries complain at once. Perhaps he'd just gotten so used to ignoring his pain that he didn't realize just how sore he was.
The Igni untied the knot that he;d his sarong in place, but he kept the garment pressed tightly to his chest to prevent any unnecessary blood loss. "Toss me a shirt and some of dat booze," he instructed her, waving his hand for her to make haste. "And while jou're at it, let me have some of jour blood too."
That last part was just a jke, but he said it with the same tone and sense of impatience that made him wonder how long it would take her to actually pick up on what he'd said.
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Post by tali on Feb 28, 2008 20:12:08 GMT -5
Tali rolled her eyes ignoring him for the most part, she took the canteen and opened it sniffing the contents, water, that would work just fine. Collecting the things she needed into her arms she got up a little shakily walking over to the man. She sat at his side peeling back some of the cloth and taking one of the clean shirts, pouring part of the water on it. Carefully she began to clean up the wound. Silently she considered dumping the "booze" on it and just wrapping it up. That was al he deserved after all... no need to pamper a killer.
Scornfully she kept to her task trying to keep it as professional as she could. She wasn't one for first aid but she knew enough to get by. Taking a second large she she stripped it into pieces and set them aside rather quickly. They would be needed in a minute after all. Back to the first cloth she pressed the fabric to the opening of the bottle tipping it up side down soaking part of the cloth. She handed him the rest of the bottle giving him a sour look. " I suggest you drink that, this is going to sting."
She didn't wait long for him to comply as she quickly began to wipe down the cut it's self, hurrying before the blood pooled again she took the clean strips wrapping them around his torso, half way through she needed to go and fetch another shirt to finish the job. It took a bit to get the makeshift bandages so they stayed but once she finished she was oddly proud of her work. Bitterly she commented that this one might not die on her. Her expression turned slightly lack luster as the reality of that comment hit. Was he already going to die or did she just kill him? " There......."
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Post by iikagen on Feb 28, 2008 20:40:20 GMT -5
As the girl began to wipe down his muddy, bloody chest with the first cloth, Iikagen's eyes were diligantly watching her every movement. As innocent as her intentions seemed up until this point, he was far too vulnerable to trust her so completely. She may not have noticed herself, but he still had the shortspear tucked beside his leg.
At her suggestion of drinking the alcohol that she had found, Iikagen took the bottle but stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? And waste perfectly good booze?" he asked. Before she applied the last bandages he turned the bottle upside down and dumped nearly all of it onto the wound. He turned a grin her way, and made sure that not a hint of pain marred his features. After all, why drink with stuff that could keep his wound clean?
After letting the girl polish up his dressings, the Igni reclined a bit more fully and folded his hands together across his stomach. "Aaaahhh...." he sighed, "T'anks... I'll tip joo in de morning. Now I need some sleep." Iikagen closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, grateful that he could finally lay back and slow his heart rate a little bit.
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Post by tali on Feb 28, 2008 21:03:48 GMT -5
Now he was just being a prick. She shook her head and gently mopped up the liquid that didn't soak into the wound. She knew it would leave a scar, but hopefully it wouldn't get infected now.. Shifting her weight from her knees to her backside she crossed her legs and leaned over her forearms resting on her thighs. Honestly now that she was relaxing she felt tired beyond belief, still she didn't want to sleep with this guy around, she didn't know if she'd wake up.
He really needed a shower and a shave, but then again he didn't seem to be in the condition to clean himself up at the moment. These thoughts reminded her of her sister, always chiding her and demeaning her, you stink, take a shower. Well she never trained so what would she know about sweat? The only sweating her sister did was when she was on her back. that was off topic though. Her Brown eyes studied the man curiously, where was he from? Why was he doing the things he did? Not much of it made sense.
Her lips pulled into a small pout, she starred him down hoping he'd notice her and start talking, so far he hadn't told her much of anything that was helpful, the more subtle things she observed herself told her more than she figured he ever would. Some of the anger pooled back into her expression as she finally formulated the first of a string of questions she'd pester him with until she was satisfied. Knowing her own thirst for curiosity that might take until the sun graced the sky. " Why did you kill those men"
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Post by iikagen on Mar 3, 2008 16:31:55 GMT -5
Iikagen's left eyelid cracked open just the slightest bit to regard the girl when she asked that question. He looked at her for a moment or two through that narrow slit of vision before closing his eye and letting out a sigh. "Dey were going to do de same to me," he said nonchalantly, figuring that would be the easiest answer. "...I'm just better at it."
At this point he really didn't feel like starting up a conversation. He needed rest. He doubted he would be able to get to sleep at the moment. His body had gotten into a rythm of staying awake long into the night, so he doubted he could sleep even if he wanted to. And even though he also doubted this girl had the stomach to kill him while he was unconscious, he would certainly be a fool to trust her so completely.
Iikagen simply allowed his body to relax as much as possible while his mind slipped into a state of calm alertness,
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Post by tali on Mar 3, 2008 17:11:32 GMT -5
Tali couldn't hold back a yawn, her hand futaly tried to keep it down but it wasn't worth the effort, it was too late. Rubbing her eyes she admitted to herself that she was tired, her body was worn out and she wanted to let go and sleep. She didn't know how much she could trust him, it didn't seem like she'd he able to. After all he did kill those two, still perhaps given the circumstances he was okay, after all he hadn't killed anyone before, there were two combatants, how could he defend himself without making sure they stopped coming after him.
The thought hit hollowly in her stomach, there had to be another way to slow them, allowing her eyes to droop for a few seconds she sighed, it seems she had no choice. Hefting herself to her feet she gave the tired man a curt glare. He didn't seem to be asleep, his breathing wasn't as even as it should be. In defeat she nudged his thigh with her foot getting his attention before she spoke. " Can I trust you to not slit my throat in my sleep?" Under normal circumstances this might be followed by some giggling but right now she was rather serious.
" If you can then I could promise the same." Crossing her arms over her stomach she awkwardly looked around the small camp, the fire crackled softly on the log that was just added to it, fearing it might go out she added another watching as the bark began to catch. She was never one for camping. Kneeling by the packs she collected them together looking through them, a hair brush caught her eye, idly turning it over in her hands she wondered who if belonged to, it looked expensive, would it's owner miss it? Slipping it back into the pack she set the lot of them next to the trunk of the tree they came from. She was no thief.
Heading to the trunk of the tree opposite the man she watched him for a while. Her eyelids becoming heavy, she didn't want to go to sleep just yet, she was worried he might do something. Attempting to keep her mind occupied she fished the nomad necklace from her shirt feeling the smooth beads under her fingers, the wood was warm from her body heat, smooth to the touch, her finger tips traced the carved swirls marking it as part of the nomad culture. For a time she stood still, her eyes closing and her body unmoving, then her arm dropped to her side, the necklace falling into place on her chest. Silence overtaking her mind.
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Post by iikagen on Mar 3, 2008 23:00:09 GMT -5
The girl's ultimatum amused Iikagen. Once more he cracked open an eye to glance at her as she made ready for sleep, and his thoughts went to the shortspear that was tucked securely beside his thigh. Part of him wanted to lifted up the weapon for her to see, but he decided that it wasn't worth it. She seemed like she was done talking, and there was no reason to ruin the silence by getting her riled up.
Iikagen's eyes closed once more and he let himself slip into a light meditative trance.
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The forest was still dark, even several hours later, but the local wildlife was beginning to awaken. The chorus of birds had shifted from the noctural hoots to to daytime chirps. The level of light was increasing slowly, but it was only a minor change thusfar.
The Igni remained in the same position from hours previous. He had slipped in and out of a very light sleep, but for the most part he was still aware of the change in his surroundings. His chest was beginning to ache in a sort of dull, throbbing pain. His body was now fully aware of how much punishment it had taken the night before, and Iikagen was using a fair amount of willpower to ignore it.
Still, he needed to rest as much as possible and so he stayed put. He go go a little longer without breakfast.
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Post by tali on Mar 3, 2008 23:21:15 GMT -5
As per her usual sleeping habits the earth kingdom girl dropped all sense of being when she was asleep, now instead of being propped up against the tree she was curled up on the ground, hidden in the shadow of the forest she would have been content to sleep all day. Still when a ray of morning sunshine hit her in the eyes she whimpered softly. Noting her aching body come back into exsistance around her she wanted to groan, sitting up she had no real recollection of where she was or what happened. Quietly she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and the small bit of saliva from the corner of her mouth. She imagined her head was a mess but she didn't think about it at the moment.
Bleary eyed she looked around the small camp attempting to find a hold in her surroundings that would explain to her why she was in the middle of the forest. Finally her eyes starred ahead at the sleeping man from the other night, that was it, everything clicked now, the scene in the forest, the forest spirit... the blood. With thin light in the area she looked down at her hands in dissaray, it was still there, dried and caked on the brownish red of the blood smeared on her hands. Biting her lower lip she got up.
Starring at the man for a time she assumed he was still out, she didn't want him vanishing on her after all. Carefully she followed the sound of rushing water to a river close to the camp. She didn't take more than a few seconds to admire it before she plunged her hands into the cool water trying to scrub the blood from her hands, even after it was gone she could still see it, that was the most unnerving part. Starring at the reflection in the water she pouted, her face depicting sorrow she hated to see, especially not on her own face. Brushing her fingers quickly over the surface of the water she distorted the image until she could no longer see it.
She'd been responsible for someones death, but the idd firenation man admitted it was kill or be killed, it was confusing to say the least. Her morals fought one another, reason attempting to sway her emotions and her emotions trying to silence her reasoning. With a tilt of her head she was looking back at his camp, finally she settled, it was alright he defended himself, wrong that he took it that far, her stomach burned with her new found anger, she'd try to get a better pin on his character before she decided his punishment, though something from the other night gave her a little bit of an idea of what to do.
Not too long after Tali stood next to the Odd man dumping a bamboo bucket of water onto his head with a satisfied and yet dark grin on her face, a fitting wake up call for him she imagined, sure the water was a touch cold, it made it all the better, she imagined it would do his wound well after all, and he did smell.
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Post by iikagen on Mar 4, 2008 17:50:39 GMT -5
Iikagen must have dozed off a little too deeply when the Earth Kingdom girl had woken up, because he wasn't aware that she was gone until a while later when he heard her footsteps approaching. Like before, the Igni remained motionless and only barely opened his eyes wide enough to peer through his lashes. It was significantly lighter out, and te sky was somewhat pink in color from what he saw. The girl stood near him for several moments, and then suddenly tossed a bucket of water at him.
Iikagen had been preparing to reach for his spear in the off-chance she tried something stupid, but water wasn't worth scaring her for her life. So without complaint he simply braced himself for the splash and remained still. The cold water was quite a shock to his body, which had remained almost entirely motionless since he laid down the night before. Iikagen squinted his eyes tightly as the water splashed over him and dripped down his body, waiting several seconds before replying.
"Good morning to joo too," he said, slowly opening his eyes after wiping them dry. The weather had been nice the past few days, but still the mornings carried with them a decent chill, and the water was making the Igni uncomfortably cold. Still remaining reclined, he brushed off some more water that hap pooled on his stomach and he said to the girl, "Since jou're already up and running, why don't joo go make jourself useful and check de snares for breakfast." Iikagen flicked the droplets of water from his fingers and pointed one way, then swept his hand along in an arc.
"Dere's a set of traps about a hundred feet out," he instructed her, "Look for a cut in de tree bark to mark dem."
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Post by tali on Mar 4, 2008 20:49:26 GMT -5
Dropping a thick cloth tunic she found stashed in one of the packs over him she shrugged innocently folding her now empty hands behind her back. Shaking her head she sighed taking on an apologetic and naive tone. " Sorry, you looked like you needed a bath so I brought one to you." Her weight shifted from foot to foot idly as she watched the tall man on the ground, he seemed to know she was coming, it bothered her, he was a light sleeper, she'd need to be careful if she spent too long with him. Honestly she intended only to stay until she could get back to town, hopefully that would be sometime today, she felt gross and wanted to change.
One of her eyebrows quirked and she followed his hand with only mild interest, now he expected her to wait on him? Did she look like some sort of serving girl? At this point she didn't feel too much sympathy for him, after all he looked bright as a summers day, not injured and bleeding, even last night he was cracking what she expected to be jokes, they weren't too funny. Her hands came from behind her back moving to cross comfortably at the end of her ribcage. Her innocent look turned cold and unamused, he could at least ask her nicely.
"Make my self useful huh? I don't believe we even exchanged names and your ordering me around, a please wouldn't kill you." Sure she'd eventually go check the traps, but she'd give him a hard time about it.
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