Rheagn's Fairy Circle

GAH-BOOOODSH!!!

The sound thundered through the canyon, shaking the walls and foundation of the small, dinky cave Li had chosen to camp out for the nite. His hearing rings were left buzzing furiously, the magic keeping the every dey ringing to a minimum fighting against the ear splitting explosion. If not for the sound that awoke him, the pebbles of rock crumbling off of the ceiling and onto his face was enough to pull him from Lunir’s slumbering lore.

Li was on his feet in a matter of seconds, his bed roll strapped to his pack and sleep rubbed from eyes by the time he found himself at the mouth of the cave, observing what he could only explain as a… crash site.

Smoke and nite’s shade shadowed most of the scene, but Li always had a way with Shadows. They showed him the damaged rock scattered throughout the site, let him feel the crater deep in the canyon floor and the female that lay in the center of that crater. 

The female being alive wasn’t the only detail that surprised him. The shadows revealed a second set of arms which extended from about mid-back and the female’s other-worldly energy intrigued Li enough to make him want to inspect the female up close, with his own sight. The Shadows could only show him so much.

Until the band of shields against weapons began to clatter through the canyon, almost ringing louder than the earlier explosion. Though the choir of this army was supposed to instill fear into the oncoming enemy, Li only grinned. 

He would not have to lure the group out himself.

Kitt

She took pride in her stillness, the slowness and lengths between breaths. The way she kept her pulse so steady, so far apart, that not a singular beat rose to the surface of her neck, as two fingertips laid upon, checking for that sweet beat.

”It’s dead, boys!” A choir of cheers and yips boomed and echoed around her. As if they’d done anything more than clamor their way towards the large blooms of smoke.

She had not opened her eyes since she’d come to consciousness, but she knew there was smoke all around simply by the way her throat burned, even with her shallow breathes. She heard shuffling steps around her, the group no doubt trying to get a better look at her. After all, she had just fallen from… 

Every thought suddenly seemed to empty from her mind, like flecks of dust, gone with the breeze.

”Hates to say, but I don’t know of a being that could survive a fall from the Heavens. Other than the Overlorde himself,  maybes,” came a male with a large tongue by the sounds of it, droplets from his mouth landing on her face. It took every ounce of strength she had not to strike at that very moment. But she could feel it. She knew she had to wait.

”Which one of the Seven Heavens do yuh think she fell from?” Another male close to her right foot asked, nudging her leg with his sword. She felt the pointed tip dig into her calf and only let the dull ache fuel her wrath, preparing her pounce. “Maybe the one where angels come from?”

”Angels have many wings, alike the Malaki. Angels do not have four arms, Claevus.” The male who exclaimed his statement spoke with pompous confidence. The following sounds were shifts of clothing, indicting their nods, and even some verbal confirmations from the rest of the group. So the group respected this male – his judgment, his ideas. “I think the Overlorde would be extremely interested in this… Xenon. Blue skin, extra limbs, fell from one of the outer worlds. I think we’ll get paid well for this one, boys!”

More cheers and cries of support raged through what she would guess was a canyon, judging by the echoes and it’s moving directions. Every little sound seemed to bounce and echo off the nearby structures. Easier for her to kill them then.

In the midst of the group’s cheering, she opened her eyes, using the moment of distraction to simply observe and listen. She was correct about the canyon, though she hadn’t caught exactly how many males there were in the group. Twenty or so males, all huddled around her, cheering and patting each other on their shoulders. Completely unaware of the predator, awake and watching them. 

But she waited until the first caught her eye, waited until his eyes widened and face paled. Then she was upon them like a thousand storms.

Cheers became screams, as she ripped out the male’s throat. She could tell it was Big Tongue who’d made eye contact with her, simply by the way his blood tasted. His saliva was practically mixed in with the metallic tang of blood, the taste so putrid, she had to spit it out immediately.

Right onto the male’s face to her right, the same one who’d jabbed the tip of his sword in her leg. The wound was just about healed but that didn’t matter to her. She wanted his blood pooling when she was done with him. 

With blood now obscuring his vision, she swung with the back of her hand and slapped him so hard, his body went flying into the rock wall behind him. The male’s head hit rock with a satisfyingly loud thwack.

The rest of the group had caught on, all beginning to charge at once. Her heartbeat was a grounding thud through her body, keeping her steady as she pounced to kill each and every one of them.

She immediately brought out her two metal appendages – rooted from the space in her lower back – and began cutting through males like vines. Every male was the same story. Charge, prep to swing, their gut impaled by her appendage.

Switching it up for herself, she impaled the closest male to her right, sending him flying and taking down four more males to her left. They were left in a groaning, slithering pile. Bringing her attention back to the front, a heavy set male was seconds from bringing his brown-metaled axe onto her face.

She quickly maneuvered, contorting her body in a perfect ball, dodging and rolling to position herself directly behind the group. She impaled the two males in front of her and though their backs were towards her, their screams were right in her face. The remainder of the group turned in stunned horror, one even letting out a pathetic cry of pure terror.

All she could do was revel in their fear, revel in the pain radiating from the impaled males. She lifted their bodies above her, let their anguish show. A quick movement of her appendages and the two once-whole males were now four pieces on the maroon splattered dirt.

Six males were running from the scene, all looking positively sick to their already dead stomachs. 

But one, she realized. This one had stayed to the back of the group throughout the entire bloodbath. Except when he came at her with that bronze axe. The same one he tossed between hands now.

This was the same pompous male, still believing himself better than the rest of the group. Believing he could take her on.

Still pathetic, she thought.

As if she needed more confirmation he looked the part, his large stature and sharp, handsome features, with a sort of undeserved swagger. Obviously well-trained, but the male’s ego about his training would take well-trained down to easy.

Keeping her eyes trained on him, she made quick work of the other five males forming a blockade around him, crumbling like rock statues before her.

She began circling the male now, analyzing what he might have up his sleeve, and why he was grinning like he had the upper hand. 

The female didn’t attack directly, instead, she dove to her left in a roll. Rolling around to the back of him, she sprung up and charged with her metal appendages first.

The male seemed caught off guard at first, but quickly recovered, dodging her first few swipes at him. He was even evading her strikes with arrogance, keeping his swagger as she pushed him back with every swing. In her aggravation, she shifted all of her weight forward for a pounce. 

But she never made contact. 

Instead, she was suddenly slammed back against an unrelenting rock wall, a glowing blue net blocking out most of her vision. Her metal appendages were crushed between her body and the rock, unable to maneuver from beneath her. Her ankles and top set of arms were anchored with the net. But her other set of arms were free to rip at the netting. 

She grabbed at the blue-glowing net and tugged with all her strength. The netting only seemed to use her actions against her, tightening it’s grasp on her, threatening to crush her against the rock. When she tried to rip at the netting, the cords only stretched with her motion. She let out a frustrated roar, continuing her go at the net.

The pompous male only smiled and took his time to saunter over to her. 

“You’re an aggressive one, I see. I like being the one to bring the aggressive ones to the Overlorde,” the male remarked. He seemed to only study her for a moment, perching himself only a few breaths away. She used the moment to spring forward using her free arms to push off the wall, extending herself as far as the net would allow, and let out a toothy snarl. So close, she watched as the arrogance in those colorless gray eyes shift to fear. 

The male sneered and shoved her head back, slamming her skull against the rock. She heard the sound of her skull hit the rock rather than feel it. Her only reply was to surge forward again, the blue net practically searing her face with its glow. 

The male stepped away with a look of disgust. Then his eyes darted around. Perhaps looking for something? She wasn’t sure but her only focus was spent on fighting against the netting.

“The Overlorde always pays more for the aggressive ones. You wanna know why, Bluey?” The male asked his question while sauntering over to pick up a rock. He studied it before ruling it up to par, unsheathed a rapier and proceeded to sharpen its blade. “He takes pleasure from breaking their will before consuming it for himself. I’ve watched his process. It’s fascinating the techniques he uses. From humiliation, to ripping off and regenerating body parts only to meet the same fate.”

The male said this all while his attention was fixated on the blade, as if he were reliving the glory in those torturous moments now. She only continued her fight with the netting, the still glowing net fighting against her with every movement. He slowly began to make his way over to her again.

”However, there’s a method he’s shown me that has become my particular favorite. One his suprity allows me to do with the extremely aggressive, to prime the animals before he receives them.” Still, the male sharpened his knife, slowly making his way towards her thrashing body. “Typically only areas easily concealed but from the looks of you, you’ll heal just fine on your own, in due time and travel.” Those colorless eyes scanned her, his eyes and scent filled with lust. “Which means this will only be round one.”

She continued to thrash, not allowing the constricting net nor the male’s vile threats stop the fire blazing within. She let out another roar of frustration.

But when her roar began to echo through the canyon, the male’s lusting scent was suddenly gone. 

She immediately stopped her fight against the net, squinting through the net’s glow. Dust blocked the rest of her vision, the canyon suddenly filled with kicked up sand.

Then, the shadow of a figure appeared. 

And as the dust cleared, the first thing she saw was the dust covered ivory lilies. The color from the flowers were the only thing distinguishing the figure apart from a shadow. The figure raised his hand towards her and the net peeled away. She landed on the canyon floor on all six, contemplating if she needed to be on defense or if she could go back to offense. The figure’s eyes were all she could see, the rest covered in black, dust covered fabric. Even his head was wrapped with the fabric, protecting his mouth and breath from the dust. Or maybe he wanted to simply remain a shadow.

Dark eyes met hers and she was glad she chose defense. 

But his attention shifted to the male, throwing out the same hand towards him instead. The once arrogant male, was now cowering beneath a red-glowing net. She wondered if the net glowed differently depending on who was wielding it. Depending on whoever’s power was doing the restraining.

“Stop this! He will have your head, Ronin!” The constricted male was vicious with his words, struggling against the netting just as hard as she had. Except she had two arms on him so the male only appeared like a frantic worm. “He sees all! He will find you!”

The shadow remained silent, making slow steps towards the male caught up in the red netting.

”Listen, my crew was only hired to steal the netting. None of this was meant to happen the way it did.” 

Silence remained the shadow’s reply, only the pitifully slow steps, letting this male’s ego dig himself a deeper and deeper hole.

“It was my crew that wanted the kid! Not me! She was never supposed to be involved.”

The shadow stopped then. The canyon was silent, no wind, no dust. Everything seemed to pause, to lean in. Waiting to see what the Ronin would do.

The male remained arrogant, of course, continuing to speak. Continuing to dig.

”I was the one who showed the kid kindness! It was me who made sure she was alright. The Overlorde would’ve had her eventually…”

The movement was so fast, it seemed to happen on instinct. 

The netting returned back to the Ronin’s hand in a flash of red light, trailing out from the nets edge. Except, it wasn’t just red light, but splatters of blood. Not just splatters, but streams of blood poured from the net.

When she brought her eyes back to the once trapped male, he was covered with red gore himself, his face a state of complete shock. The netting had skinned the male completely. Left raw and bleeding on the hard stone of the canyon, the male slumped to his side and whimpered. She watched as his last breaths rattled from him, his eyes wide with fear and pain.

The Ronin only stood there, netting in hand and dripping with gore.

And though the target was taken out, all she could think was how the male was hers to end, not the shadow’s. She snarled towards the Ronin, almost saying as much. Those dark eyes only shifted over to hers with a glare, then turned on a foot to walk away from her.

So she pounced and caught no purchase once more. The last sight she would be able to recall would be a flash from the shadow and the sweet smell of lilies.