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Fluffy continued riding on the tiger and followed Mercy and his friend / familiar. She could sense that everyone was keeping an eye on each other. She didn't really trust her companions all that much and there was little reason to trust her, especially with this big ass tiger. Still, she had to make do with what she had and give some important information to Kage. She wasn't going to get anywhere by just following this man.
"So," she said cheerily, "why were they trying to kill you back there? You do something to make them angry? And wow, can you believe how strong that dryad was? I felt like I might have actually died for a moment there!"
The tiger's ears started to twitch a few minutes later and it would communicate that there was something up ahead.
"My tiger is warning me of danger up ahead," Fluffy would say, "anyone else trying to get your head today?"
Hatairu, the land of howling wind and cherry blossoms guided the trio. Mercy, accompanied by Wraith and "Fluffy" headed toward the village. Although he did not trust this strange woman she intended to join his Clan. She began the conversation and beckoned him "why were they trying to kill you back there?"
Mercy responded "I was thought to have been dead for a long time. That is why they thought I was some intruder."
The Samurai wanted to laugh when she mentioned the Dryad's strength. Mercy did not have a reason to care about such silly banter. Mercy knew he could defeat the Dryad; although the battle would've been challenging.
"That Dryad was one of the royal guard assigned to care for this sacred land that we call home. She is powerful, however… She is one of the young ones roaming the land. If you believe she was strong there are terrifying Dryad here that would give you nightmares. From my perspective… She is average."
The Samurai spoke aloud as a rustling about occurred in the distance. The wind began to howl, and violently whip, sending several Sakura petals into the air surrounding the group. Wraith listened to fluffy but had already been acutely aware of the impending danger that lurked in the distance.
She did not hesitate to take her position, and as always stood in front of Mercy prepared to guard her Master with her life. Wraith was prepared to fight until she was forced to retreat, dead, or victorious. The onyx-colored Waraji beneath her feet stamped the lengthy, flowing grass as she widened her stance. The Onna-bugeisha closed her eyes briefly, whilst her hand clasped the Kashira of her blade, and slid down to the Tsuba. Black-clad in her tousei-gusoku armor she prepared to face the oncoming threat.
Mercy scoffed, and with crossed arms prepared to watch the show that would soon unfold. Wraith would be the one to take on this challenge; perhaps Mercy did not allow her enough time to battle on her own.
Fluffy listened intently and learned that the dryads were kind of like the aelves of her own home. That was good to know. To think that the average dryad was that good at manipulating the woods to their advantage… she would have to be ready to turn into a bird at a moment's notice. She would not be so easy to tie down again. That's what she told herself anyways. She smiled, letting happy thoughts fill her head. Being in Jian was fun so far.
She wanted to chat some more but danger was afoot. Her tiger dropped into a low stance, which didn't really matter much because it was so fucking big. There was a brief blur of motion and out from the tree jumped two black tigers. They weren't anywhere near the size of Fluffy's tiger… they were more like an average tiger's size. Still, they made up for size with their speed. They jumped right at Fluffy's tiger who swung a claw to knock them away, but they reappeared in an instant off to the side.
A third one leapt from the shadows and went after Wraith, teleporting here and there before trying to strike.
"What the hell? They can teleport?" Fluffy shouted, not really sure how to fight against something like this. Her tiger deferred to her for instructions, and probably didn't typically have to deal with this sort of thing.
Mercy responded "I was thought to have been dead for a long time. That is why they thought I was some intruder."
“Wraith, Do it now” Mercy beckoned his familiar, whilst the Tiger bore its fangs, and claws. Although She did not possess the same level of sword-prowess as mercy; Wraith was more than capable of defending herself. Mercy knew this land well Jian was his place of birth after all. A tendril extended from the spinal-cord of his Familiar; approximately twenty five feet in length. The Tiger charged with the ferocity of a berserker.
However, it was not the most intelligent of apex predators; that was its most obvious flaw. The femme-fatale wasted no time and drew the length of her Katana from its scabbard. She used the tendril to distract the beast first and defend against its first strike. The tendrils length was covered with suction cups, laden with rows of serrated teeth; like that of a giant octopus. Wraith struggled to both control the tendril and simultaneously prepare to strike with her Katana. However, she persevered and whipped the tendril in an arc from right to left. The Tiger, as it moved forward had been met with the thunderous “crack” of the tendril against its skull.
The once great Beast had been concussed by the blunt force and struggled to find balance. Wraith took the opportunity to swiftly end its suffering. Using her rust-laden Katana; she lobbed through the densely packed muscle on the back of its neck. Mercy erupted in a fit of laughter. “Well that’s how it’s done, great job Wraith… Now what shall we do about the other two?!” He exclaimed, raised his right arm, and extended the digits of his hand toward the Tiger that attacked fluffy.
Mercys flesh was adorned from birth with an amalgamation of flesh and fish scales. Although he did have a metahuman appearance; one could hardly distinguish him from a normal man. His gills were only partially visible through the onyx colored hakama he wore. The lengthy gossamer-thin strands of his hair fluttered about in the dim breeze. The Samurai was a strange Man, a “dead Man”, a “Fish”. However, when he entered combat, he fought with unprecedented bloodlust. One only understood by the Warriors whom lived in the depths of the ocean. Every day was another lengthy journey, and death was never far behind.
“Take off its head Wraith… Cut it off and we will drain the body of blood later. Use its hide to make some new clothes.” Mercy spoke as the scale-laden flesh on his visage glimmered in the sunlight. Although the use of magic was considered a dishonor in the land of Jian; Mercy had methods of concealing it. Non-physical components tended to be the best way to disguise the use of magic. Unless one were unlucky enough to run into a mysticism practitioner like himself.
The Samurai waltzed forward toward the next target(s) that decided to attempt making fluffy their prey. Unbeknownst to the beasts; they had just sealed their own fate by moving too close to Mercy. With his right arm still raised, and the digits of his hand extended outward; psychoplasm began to spread about the vicinity within 15’. The other Two tigers were lifted into the air, and swiftly slammed into the ground with more than enough force to shatter half of the bones in their hind-legs. In one fell swoop; they were left incapable of standing.
1x expert level cast to exude psychoplasm, and then manipulate it to toss around the tigers..
Fluffy watched with wide eyes as her new companion grew tendrils and dealt with the beasts with relative ease. It was impressive to say the least. Her tiger roared in pain as it got slashed at and bitten into. It couldn't both fight back and protect its rider, and Fluffy had a sense of self preservation. She commanded it to go "Up!" so it leapt into the trees, allowing Mercy to deal with the second one as well.
When the tigers were slammed down, Fluffy shouted, "Now!" and her tiger landed on them and ripped their underbellies open.
"That was… fun," Fluffy said, still dazed at what had just transpired. She'd been whispering to Kage for most of the time she'd been in the trees, telling him that she'd found someone exceptionally strong. He gave her the go-ahead to invite him to a meeting.
"I believe my master would be interested in making an alliance with you," she said, sizing him up with a newfound respect.
"I have a map here," she said, pulling out a sheet of paper that she'd stolen off one of the various people she'd killed.
"I'm meeting up with him soon," she said as her tiger walked over towards the pair. "He's not in the area, yet, but he should be soon." She dropped the map down towards Mercy and continued, "he said he will arrange for a gift to be left at that location. A sword, as I told him that yours looks in disrepair."
To Mercy she probably sounded like a crazy woman. How could she possibly have talked to someone who wasn't even there? Maybe he would think Fluffy was just a familiar telepathically communicating to her master. It was up to him to believe her, but if he did circle around to the indicated location, he would find that a sword would be waiting for him.
"Now, let's continue on our way. I believe my tiger is in need of some medical attention…"
Mercy watched as the large Tiger ridden by Fluffy ascended into the Trees; while he dealt with the teleporting-tigers on his own. In mere moments her mount descended and slashed open the underbellies of the once-predators. The Samurai wasn’t remotely interested in anything she said, as she spoke to what appeared to be the wind. Perhaps, she was like Wraith and had a master in the shadows. However, this brought about another question; why did she need to speak aloud if she was a Familiar?
The conclusion was simple; she was nothing like Wraith. He hadn’t bothered to use mysticism to detect metaphor. The notion of a “Gift” being left by a mysterious man that she called her “Master” however, was interesting. Mercy had beaten, and battered his Katana over several years of use. It was so rusty that the only advantage it gave him in combat; was the ability to give nasty-infections if he maimed or wounded an opponent. This was a rare occurrence as the Samurai had a multitude of ways to slaughter an adversary.
“This master of yours wants an alliance. Perhaps I will take it into consideration.” He spoke and somehow remained calm despite what could have been a dangerous situation. When the map dropped at his feet, he picked it up without hesitation. The opportunity to receive a new weapon was enough to convince him. The tendrils that once extended from Wraith’s spine retracted. Out he ventured into the depths of Tsukai toward the “X” located on the map.
“By the way.. Fluffy… You are strange, I thought for a moment that you were a familiar, however that is obviously not the case. Wraith and I can communicate without uttering a single word. So how is it that you communicate with this Master?” He beckoned just as the group reached the location; just outside the territory of Wushan.
Fluffy chuckled and said, "my master has implanted something in my ear that allows him to communicate with me." She tapped her finger to her ear gently. "He is mysterious in his ways and I do not know how it works. But I believe he uses this magic to speak to those important to him."
She left out the part about the plant-worm being able to shred through her brain at a moment's notice if Kage wished it to.
"A very capable swordsman made it," Fluffy assured Mercy, "I don't agree with the aesthetics, but she has a certain flair. Anyways, the sword should be waiting for us by the time we get there so let's get going!"
Kage guided them to exactly where the sword would be. She needed the help because the pickup spot was in a fairly secluded location and covered by some leaves. It was a nice and safe place to leave a package.
While he guided them, he had his assistant, Sylvia, open up a portal to her nexus. They went through and Kage was able to navigate to Jian and leave the sword in the hiding spot with a note attached to it. Then they headed through a portal back into her nexus and closed the portal.
Fluffy and Mercy would arrive there about an hour later.
The note read: "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I look forward to working with you in the future. I'll be keeping an eye out for opportunities to work together. Signed, Galinn."
After that fluffy would follow Mercy to whatever village he wanted to take her to. She wouldn't be spending much time there anyways. It was likely that she wouldn't see much of Mercy again before her eventual death.
math:
Sylvia
0.33 - 0.11 journeyman portal to nexus -0.11 journeyman portal to nexus -0.11 close 2nd portal = 0.00
