Defilement

Lucius laughed, and it was a sound that would have been horrific to any living creatures around him. His work about him was rather evident about him, runes etched into the surrounding trees, rocks, and the entrance to what had the scent of a home. Each of the runes was painted over in a layer of blood, fresh from the corpse of the young girl laying at his feet. The swathes of red on each tree were by now ringed by a color indicative of the life itself of the tree, or rather its life force, being corrupted, at least, on the larger trees. The smaller trees, it was clear, were being drained of their life, it being leeched out of them into the surrounding air, the mark of the rune twisting it into a dark evil feeling of presence about the area. Though, by way of how the magics involved worked, the evil, twisted energy had not permeated the den itself, yet. That, would take some time, but, given the time, it would happen.

"This, this is quite good, I can feel the changes taking affect in this place." He smiled, before turning back to the two remaining individuals staring on at him in abject horror and terror. They were the parents of the young girl, lifting the wife from the ground, he drained the blood, taking part of it for his own consumption, and splashing it about the ground just outside the den entry way. The remaining man, he, would be the central piece to his work here.

Human hands, pale skin and nail brushed through the fallen leaves to touch the surface of a broken stick, the smallest and almost inconceivable sign of entrance to those who'd not come with the abundant respect for life that Raikou had come to hold within himself over the passing years living among the Kumari. Rough and bushy brows furrowed, hazel hues following the unseen trail in the direction for the den lay about the land before him, signs of two though the most evident seemed to lack any real recent presence and instead it seemed the one Raikou had been tracking through the Glisan Forest had come to enter the home of another. "Now this is interesting..." he muttered aloud to himself, audible enough for others to hear should they be close enough, showing little care for the potential discovery in his approach yet moving no further, his eyes sought the entrance to the Den, head tilting in almost animistic curiosity as he savored the unnatural presence in the air about them.

Slowly, Raikou stood upright; his left hand drawing a wooden shaft atop the side of Daikyu whose head carried a silver point. "Come out of there..." He called out towards the Den, suspecting the other male to be about desecrating the land in some demeanor, black magics the like that often drew out the Oni, something he could not allow. "I have not come here seeking your life but I can taste their shadow upon you, the Oni, perhaps a descendant of theirs...-Come and show yourself, perhaps you can explain to me what you're doing in there...". Raikou stood tall, his shoulders, chest and thighs clad in armor the likes of another culture, one foreign to these lands, he bore all his gi fit for that of a Samurai. The Katana and Wakizashi, twin blades were sheathed on his left while at his back sat the Tanto though she was not a weapon for fighting worth. The long Bow however now armed, lifted to face in the direction of a den, both she and the arrow were weapons in their own right, Raikou skilled in using the two alone yet paired, his aim and instinct was keen, a born demon hunter.

Lucius could feel the dark and evil energy swirling around him, eating into the space around him, almost beginning to feed off of itself. The energy was nearing a critical mass point, which was not quite what he had planned previously, but, he was going to role with it. "The desecration of someone's home, now, this, this will get the attention of the local mongrels." He thought aloud to himself. Then, through the swirling chaos around him, he heard a voice calling to him, ordering him to come out, but, he did not want to, with the energies swirling about him, they produced a glow as they brushed across his skin, the inherent undeath there playing amusingly with the dark energy.
"You can taste their shadow upon me?" He replied with a laugh, "Perhaps it is my ancient shadow you taste upon them!" His voice had a slight cackle to it, the swirling energy making him somewhat giddy. "I would definitely stay back if I were you, this type of energy does not play well with the the living, or at least not the properly guarded living!" The tree nearest him had turned nearly black by this point as its very life essence was corrupted. He stepped closer to it, laying his hand on the bark, and could feel the energy moving into his hand, transferring into a more suitable vessel for its corrupted nature. He grinned at this, feeling the power wash through him.

Daikyu lowered slowly, he heard the words of the other though his concentration wavered momentarily away from the confident words of the darker individual, his mind moving to convince him in the need of Shikami, his right hand pulling away from the arrow in which he kept against the shaft of Daikyu with his left index finger, instead his right moving down behind him to pull the mask from around his back. The Shikami, an item of special characteristics that only he of his clan had learned to utilize, passed down from Samurai of the demon hunters, now to he who was the Ronin, who would no longer part with such traditions.
A low rumble rose up through his chest, triggering the octaves of something inhuman as he bore the mask, the face of a fallen oni once legend now ancient and unheard of in spoken lore, it was the eye sockets that he soon came to stare down the den through, a light of an entirely different shade, red and black, shades of white coursing throughout his vision as he found the aura of the nearby markings within moments, though hidden behind the earth and surrounding that of Lucius, it was enough to convince him to stay put for the time being.

"It would seem you're more experienced than I first gave you credit for...-perhaps you're right, perhaps you are the target of my honor..." He spoke out in a calm, almost orchestrated tone. He moved none, the den itself meaning nothing to Raikou as he'd never met with the owner though he'd been around for quite some time now, the issue he held with this darker figure however was the desecration of the natural world wielding the power of the Oni. Daikyu slowly rose once more, his face masked by the oni's outer figure, his senses enlightened to all presence of an unnatural evil within his vacinity. "I have no desire to walk into a death trap, your relics, these markings that you've placed upon the land, they will not last in their power for long, sooner or later you will need to come out...".

A gut feeling deep down, Charon could tell that leaving for such a long time wasn't such a good idea. And to make the problem worse was that the idea has rooted into his mind and has festered. Every time he'd start to make his way back, something else would distract him, then the regret would set back in. That or his sense of direction would work against him. A place to finally call 'home' and he has to leave shortly after establishing it as his own. For the first time in his long life, he couldn't wait to get back to his den, that was for sure. He kept telling himself that there would be no more distractions, he needed to get back.

Scenarios played in his mind whether if there were others who took advantage of his absence. Blade was the first to come to mind. He had this thing out for Charon and wouldn't surprise the wolf to find him or one of his kin within the vicinity. The only other relations he had were with individuals whom he could stand the presence of. His tired mind couldn't recall any others. But it didn't matter anyway. Once he sensed any sort of presence or aura that someone possessed that he didn't recognize, they were going to learn quickly that he isn't one to fuck with, even while taking a vacation, if one could call it that. Even though mentally fatigued and wanting a good night's rest, the more he thought about it put him in a bad mood, his temper shorter than usual.

The reason why he left not so clear as it originally was, Charon took advantage of his distance from Kumari to train himself. From his previous battles, he has noticed that going back to basics was much needed. Any free time he did have, he spent re-honing his ice-crafting skills; shortening crafting times and increasing the speed and repetitions of attacks and crafting in general. This once dulled and rusted blade has become sharp and polished once again. On the other hand, there was this secondary power that has been 'gifted' to him that he has still yet to even begin to control. Charon barely had any knowledge of what the true potential of it was. Secluded and by himself was a double edged sword in itself. There was no one to injure, but yet there was no one there to keep him sane if he so chose to invoke upon the Hellish power. Deciding to face the risks face to face, Charon learned of his triggers and has some idea of his limits. This knowledge came at a price of a fatigued and battered body. Every power-up would tear his body apart and even the immortality had trouble keeping up with.

Slowly padding along in his feral wolf form, Charon had finally reached Glisan Forest. The thoughts of someone being at his Den compounded in his mind and only as he neared the adrenaline started to hit his bloodstream, his body preparing before he could sense anything.

Once he could sense someone, or something, there was a deeply dark aura that just seethed right about where he den was. Ironically, it was fortunate he sensed something because he would have spent another couple hours just trying to find his den, as he was heading in the wrong direction to begin with. There was nothing else around so he stopped. Listening, feeling and concentrating on these auras spiked his heart rate, his body involuntarily preparing more. One aura just completely overpowered the other, laced with malice and dark intentions. The other was hard to make out, though it seemed to be either defensive or suppressed. Either way, one word kept repeating in his mind: 'Out'. He followed the continuous source of aura until it would become suffocating a normal individual. "They're within range", Charon muttered to himself. Stopping there, Charon was aiming himself right at the mouth of his Den. Seamlessly, ice encrusted over patches of his fur as he inhaled deeply, his body cooling to subzero temperatures within only a couple seconds. The air cooled dramatically around him, frost instantly covering adjacent trees and other flora. His lungs full, Charon didn't waste time to unleash his attack. "Rage of Boreas!" Billowing from his maw at blinding speed, ice shards and snow swirled which then funneled out to create a wind whipping blizzard that was unforgiving to those who trespassed onto his land and would freeze solid anyone in its path. The attack continued for a while, allowing extra time to make sure they were frozen to the core. Some of the snow flying into the air, once Charon had finished, the snow would fall like it was winter and some had already accumulated on the ground. Beginning to walk, Charon kept his pace slow but deliberate, a scowl etched onto his face. The snow crunched under his paw pads.

"A death trap is rather accurate friend." Lucius laughed, cloaking his presence with his psychic displacement. He laughed again, an even more maniacal sound, ""They will not last? They are the natural energy of the land here, and, are nearly at critical mass! When the energies cross that threshold, this place will be lost to the dark energies." He had by now located where the man was standing, and thinking how best to go about dealing with him. "Leave now human, this is beyond your scope, I, a beyond your scope." He knelt and touched a rune glowing at his feet, feeling the energy flow into his hands, and, as he was about to direct it outwards toward the man, he heard a shout, drawing his attention away.

The blast of arctic air, snow, and ice, hit the whirling energies,and, while not completely dissipated, was blunted enough to allow Lucius to hunch his shoulders and lean into the wind in order to not be moved by the remaining force of it. "Good attempt! But, youll need to physically hit me to move me off this spot, if you dare!" Cackling again, he spread his wings, trying to be prepared for whatever else might be thrown at him next. "You must be the one whose den this is, welcome Charon! I hope you dont mind my little, housewarming gift!" He could feel the powers nearing completion, as soon as they were complete, he would be gone as quickly as possible. A single human he could handle,but, this ice wolf? He was less certain of his ability against one of these magic mutts.

However underestimated he might be by the one in front, he'd not felt the presence of the one behind until the air picked up and the ground shook with the incoming gusts and hail of ice, frozen winds and snow. In the instant, Raikou discarded the one within the cave, pushing down and bending at the knees only to throw himself from the earth floor in search of the tree's nearby. The barrage of wind and ice hammered away at him, through his trajectory off. His back came in contact with the trunk before he dropped into one of the lower branches, a loss of breath and cringing from the impact though it could've been worse. Raikou grimaced as he looked down now from the far left of the would-be conflict, searching for the one that had tried to take him from the back.

The dark one began to speak and it seemed the new arrival was the rightful owner of the Den the Vampire had stepped into. The Ronnin having stepped into the midst of a territorial dispute soon found himself realizing and questioning how to proceed. Steadying the Shikami upon his face, masking his appearance behind the Samurai armor and the demon mask, he observed in further silence, tracing the aura of darkness from the den and soon turning his attention towards that of Charon who seemed to be a much more natural presence, though capable of elemental control to Raikou's experience. "I'm not your enemy, I did not come to take your territory. I have been tracking this one for days..." he called out from the tree, slowly rising to stand upon the branch, one hand upon the hilt of his Katana while he kept himself in good footing, positioning himself with the other firmly against the trunk of the tree. "That said, I will not deprive you of this fight, it's yours by right..." He dipped his gaze in a brief acknowledging nod, remaining in his place yet also on edge half expecting another attack to come his way. For the time being he would wait and watch.

Slightly humid for a mid-autumn day, the snow that Charon had created was of the wet and heavy kind. So with every step, distinct compressions, prints of his paws were made. It made the well known crunch as he grew closer to his intruders. The snow had created a slight fog, super-cooling the surrounding area which had formed a thin cloud that settled on the ground. The countless trees in this fog had created a sight barrier. While having handicapped himself, so were the other's sights inhibited. With the surrounding warm air however, the fog would clear within minutes. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. Hopefully his enemies relied on their sight and had no other sense just as keen. Of course, there would be the chance that was not the case and he would only be hurting himself. At least he could sense this dark individual and the other that hung back, not with pin point accuracy, but with an approximate location. The more faint one would be more difficult.

Soon his intruders would soon be able to hear his footsteps, slowly encroaching upon them, however still veiled behind the fog. The voice that called out to him first probably spoke once he could hear Charon, however he was still a bit away. This one must have good hearing. When he spoke, the male's tone had familiarity. Only briefly meeting once before, Charon had difficulty recalling the name. But he did remember that the encounter wasn't a friendly one. 'Tch! Couldn't freeze 'im' Other than muttering his own thoughts inside his mind, Charon remained still silent, besides his footsteps. What he said wasn't much of a goading to cause much of a reaction. Soon after he heard 'housewarming gift', the metallic smell of spilled blood swirled his olfactories. Nose scrunching, he wondered what exactly he did. Is he some feline bringing back a kill to his owner and leaving it on their doorstep? Obviously, just like the lowly creature he is, defiling someone else's property. Even Charon would refrain from such an act. Unless, of course, they had pissed him off and needed to learn a lesson that nothing slides with him. Yet, nothing of the sorts has happened yet, so Charon knew this wasn't some sort of revenge.

Ears erected as a different voice spoke to him from higher branches. Having senses the subtle presence already, he was already alert and did not even glance in the direction. However, as the male spoke, Charon wondered if he should trust this individual. Stopping briefly, to expound his following statement, aura suddenly flooded forth from his form, like a sharp, refined flame, his fur rustling from an unseen wind. "Then you have no purpose here, for the one you were tracking will not make it much further beyond this area... You will not be warned again, human." His voice was only audible to the Samurai: stoic, cold and imposing. Leaving him to his own devices, Charon continued.

Suddenly, a third presence could be felt. This caused Charon to mis-step as he could feel another rush come over him. More enter the fray... I must make this quick before half the land learns of this... The new presence Charon couldn't quite discern. It was curious, but not friendly. As he walked, Charon started to change forms. Only taking a few seconds, bones cracked, muscle and sinew took new shapes as the wolf transformed into an anthropomorphic creature or lycan depending on who you talk to. Still remaining on all fours, his steps quickened to a full gallop. A sharp throaty growl exited between bared fangs, letting everyone close hear his approach. The growl escalated into a feral yell, running now on his hind legs in a sprint. This would then reveal his form was shy an inch from 7 foot at his crown. With a final push of his hind legs, Charon demonstrated agility that many would disbelieve possible of someone of his stature, traveling a couple hundred feet per second, to give a measurable speed. This was only effective in short bursts and already in his sore state, Charon's legs burned. Covering a distance of a hundred feet or so, the wolf reached the vampire head on at a quick speed. A physical attack he wanted, a physical attack he would get. Crackles could be heard as a thick layer of ice near instantly covered Charon's left fist and forearm as he pulled back for a punch. Firing said punch with strong velocity, with the speed he was traveling at, a straight to the gut would have devastating damage. The vampire needed to disappear, and that's what Charon was intending.

Lucius felt the energies hit critical, and felt the time to take his leave had come. He began to extend his wings for flight, when a tingle crept up his spine, moments before the hulking brute seemingly materialized from the forest in front of him. He pressed his psychic displacement out, cloaking himself, and very nearly managed to dodge the colossal fist that had been thrown at him. He very nearly managed to do it, but, time, speed of reaction, and size of the fist were against him, and it wound up clipping his shoulder, hard. The impact spun him, and, to catch himself, he laid a hand hand on the beasts arm, and thinking quickly, he sketched out a rune, dagger sharp nails slicing the design into the skin, letting blood run through it. If it took, it would quickly bring a painful, festering, corrupted wound to the wolf's arm, and he hoped it would take, as he spun away. Hitting the ground, he knew his shoulder had been, at least, cracked, maybe broken.

He spun quickly up off the ground, skirting back away from the hulking brute, he began projecting his presence, seemingly, randomly about the area as he ghosted over the quickly melting snow. He made sure to keep his feet stepping only on things already exposed above the vanishing white condensate. "If you are here for your home, your too late." He laughed, the ground within the runic circle beginning to fester with what seemed boils. Some of them popped, revealing, nothing, they were voids in the ground itself. The life, the essence, of the area was crumbling away before the eyes of those were were present.

Charon's threatening tone was not one without cause, leaving Raikou to fall into silence as he considered the situation developing before him. Through his co-operation with the Kostas, he'd come to understand just how aggressively territorial these creatures could become and knew just how far to push his luck before being forced to enter a true confrontation. That said, Charon was now pursuing Raikou's interests as the Vampire showed talents that seemed well above that of his typical kind, at-least the kin that Raikou had come to face back in Otara, Arcane.

"I understand...-I will not interferre and should you end the others life than I will gladly walk away however..." Raikou paused, whispering almost to himself in the hope that Charon would hear him through whatever link he'd established with Raikou, the Ronin's tone cautious in his ending sentiment; "If you fail, I will take this fight elsewhere and leave you be...-These grounds are not my goal here".

He hadn't noticed the third presence as he lowered himself to sit upon the thick branch looking down over the clearing through the few leaves that sought to keep him from spectating the coming fight. Well on the other side of the area than Night, the Ronin took a comfortable position in seating himself and showing no further desire to get between the two would-be giants. Instead his hands moved for that of his Katana, drawing it from its sheath only to lay it sideways across his lap, searching for his satchel and pulling a damp slick cloth from within along with a small container that held a pale ointment.

Lifting the hilt of the Katana in his right hand, he elevated the weapon slightly so that he might run the cloth slowly down the back of the edge, his fingers enveloping both sides as he started to clean and cleanse the steel, his eyes never leaving the area ahead in eager attention. Given the situation, he was rather well mannered in his complacency to await the fate of his target. Lucius had not been a goal for personal ambitions at all but rather that his clan, The Tachibana were an ancient lineage now, long since dead that sought to divide and imbalance the overpowered Oni and their spawn from terrorizing the human population. In those days the Wolves had not become as well witted nor evolved (to their knowledge) into that of the lycanthrope. The Ronin, the last member of the Tachibana, these days had something of a rather large helping to potential candidates to meet their end upon his steel in these days; it was however the demonic ones, those that would do wrong to the less capable human kind, that Raikou sought in his time.

Adrenaline levels slowly rising, heart pumping fast and angerous thoughts flooding his mind, Charon's purposeful hatred for this vampire blossomed. He could tell since their first meeting that this creature thrived on causing anyone and anything irreparable despair. Then again, that's how most vampires chose to live their lives. They thirst not only for the blood of their victims, but the thrill that hurting others brought. Charon understood the feeling completely and has probably shared similar experiences with the vampire. But the creature of the night brought all of this to a whole new level. That dark energy he brought to this plane of existence to only ruin the possessions of others, on a whim, is uncalled for. Even Charon retained some moral values. But why is he so pissed, one would ask? Because the bastard chose the wrong wolf to mess with, on his land even!

Unseen gusts of wind rustled his fur as Charon's aura was released from behind its dam. He assured the human that he would have purpose here as he would no longer have any sort of duty to take care of this vampire, or whatever he planned on doing with him. Amped up and ready to go, Charon had no more intentions to speaking with the samurai. However, he continued to speak, acknowledging what he said, at least understanding he had no plans on trespassing further onto his territory. Charon glanced up his way, "Fine... But you won't have much left to fight." He assured him before Charon continued towards the mouth of his den.

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A thick layer of ice covered from his fist all the way up just short of his elbow. The large beastian fist was thrown with blurring speed towards the vampire, aiming for a solid torso shot. Perhaps it was his size, weight or stature. Or maybe the vampire was faster because of how thin, slender and light he was, but the fist didn't connect right where he wanted it. Charon did in fact feel something under his fist breaking however, and the next thing he saw was the pale figure spinning. Sharp sickle-like nails dug into his right fore-arm as his opponent caught himself, breaking the skin. Normally a flesh wound wouldn't hurt much to the immortal, however the vampire must have laced his fingernails with the similar dark energy as he was using. It burned like none other and quickly took effect, boiling away his flesh like it was nothing. It mimicked the festering boils that bubbled away on the ground by the human sacrifices. Snarling in pain, Charon looked to the wound as Lucius fell to the ground. Futile attempts were made as he tried to rub away the festering boils, brush after brush, trying to push it away. Then, it began to spread around like an infection, eating away at his sinew. Crying out in pain again, he could feel how his muscles twitched, unable to control the appendage. Coming to a rash decision, a blade crafted from the already existing ice that covered his left arm. A swing of his left arm, the blade cut through the upper right arm like butter. The limp limb fell to the ground with a thud. Eyes finding the vampire again, he had already spun back to his feet and was making a run for it. Another angry snarl ripped past his exposed fangs. Not caring about the blood spurting from his stump of an arm, it was already beginning to heal at the cellular level, the blood dribbling to a stop within seconds. The amputated extremity began to dry up and become ash as if it was being cremated. As each flake of ash left the arm, a piece of Charon's arm regrew, beginning with the bone.

Knees bending, thighs tensed and burned as he prepared for another quick step. Gritting his teeth to bear the pain, Charon leapt forward, running in fast, long strides, covering hundreds of feet of distance in mere seconds. The vampire seemed to float away like the wind, disappearing behind a tree. If he recalled correctly, this one had the power to project himself, or something like that, to make it seem like he was in multiple places at once. Thinking he could get him before that happened, Charon reached the aforementioned tree just as he saw Lucius hide behind it. Opening his fist, an ice pole began to craft inside, about a meter and a half long. Ice shards shrouding the pole, the craft instantly took shape of a Zweihänder. Gripping the hilt tightly, Charon stayed on the right of the tree and only a flash was seen before he had passed the tree. The sword cut cleanly through the trunk, however the cut was not completely horizontal. After a few seconds, the large foliage would soon begin to slide off its trunk and fall, fortunately away from his den. "Filthy coward!", he kept his exclamation under his breath as much as he could. The vampire wasn't there and he had silently escaped his sights. With a mocking tone, his opponent laughed from multiple directions, saying his efforts are for naught and he's too late. His property he cared about, but right now he needed the vampire to pay. While he seemed to appear in multiple places, the stench of blood still only came from one place, sniffing the air to approximate the location. 'That must be the real one!' With fangs still bared, a slight curl came to his lips 'Found the mouse'. Can't project scents, it would seem. Following the vampire deeper into the forest, Charon's speed carried him, quickly, through the wooded area until the metallic smell of blood filled his olfactories again and he could see the figure of the vampire. With his right arm still healing, bones beginning to cover with muscle tissue, it still could not be used, so Charon thought of something he could do with only one hand. A tapered needle, several inches long, of ice protruded from his palm and thought of a brutal finishing move against the vampire. With a final push of his legs, Charon again approached Lucius with great speed and with hope that his guard was lowered thinking that he wouldn't be located so easily. Attacking from behind, the beast thrust out his open palm. As soon as the ice would penetrate the skin, it would be no more for the vampire. "Eisig Sterben!"

Lucius watched from a tree branch, both above, and about 20 yards behind Charon, as the spear of ice pierced the tree. Watching as the shards and splinters of old wood flew in different direction, along with a few shards of ice, he observed, "That would have been incredibly painful, for the tree, if it was alive." Looking back at the sphere of dark magic, he smiled. "Your in luck, the energy is about to dissipate, so, that problem will be done. But, the resulting explosion very well may rip the remainder of the dirt and rock around your den asunder. I'd recommend using your freezing powers to secure whats left." As he said those last words, the swirling sphere began pulsing, expanding, but then contracting to a smaller size.

"Yeah," Lucius considered, "Human, I would recommend running. That magic will not be friendly to your kind. I'm not particularly fond of the detonation either, though, the aftermath can be rather spectacular." He mused. "Your arm must be incredibly painful right now." That was a comment on Charon having lopped off his own arm, which was growing back. "Though, I have never seen that rune used on one who could regrow limbs, so, I don't know how effective that bit of power might be, or how useful that new arm will be. Don't be surprised if there is a scar in the shape of that rune on it." He began moving again, fairly confident that the other male would not be able to detect him, but not particularly wanting to push the issue there. The energy continued to pulse, contracting towards its critical point.

He stood now, the thick of the trees trunk keeping him steady with a soft palm upon it's bark, his eyes down below unto the clearing and the one that sought to find an easy meal amidst the den desecrated by the undoings of the Vampire, Lucius; if he was to be called as such. Quietly the Ronin watched as the wolf whom he could not recognize looking to close the distance between himself and the mouth of the home, Night's awareness of self and his environment doing him great justice to halt his position and reconsider; Raikou had been made, if not by distinction then by instinct as the wolf quickly showed traits of paranoia.

Charon had taken the humans goal, seeking to eradicate the vampire for treading upon soil that was not rightly his and that was all well and good, only up until he proved unable to take the target down. Raikou had remained put expecting for either one of them to return and show him the results of the battle, whether it be Charon returning home or Lucius returning to finish whatever dark magicks he had at play here; Raikou ultimately cared little as it made no difference to his end-game. The third of the group he did however find to be taking his attention, curious brown hues narrowed as he continued to study the creature whos body seemed to have gone tense in it's pause, a faint curl crossing the mouth of the human as he balanced rather tidily upon the tree branch, left hand sitting casually on the hilt of his Katana though fingers remaining loose and away from the shaft. "Your instincts are sound but I mean you no harm..." Raikou called down from above in order to help cease the others given anxieties, "My interest here is solely on the perpetrator in this little nest of vipers", his demeanor shifted only marginally to offer something of a polite smile down upon the wolf before his gaze left that of Night and returned to steer of into the direction the two combatants had moved.

Raikou did not know a lot about this Charon, the one who had claimed this forest as his own. To his knowledge it had been free terrain though obviously wrong in that assumption, it was enlightening to know there was a presence with such a fighting ability as his, in the east of the lands. Lucius of course, Raikou had come in contact with one before when the Vampire had hoped to frame the lycanthrope for a murder committed within the Muchani city limits. It was foiled by Raikou though only due to the recklessness of his student at the time, Cayden whom like always seemed to find the best of trouble at the worse of times. Raikou himself had been the one seen upon the ground floor at the end of it all, the humans had feared a murderer in him though he was innocent and it had neglected to fuel a further battlefront between the races so the Ronin had chosen instead to seek exile to the Ashlands beneath the sleeping giant.

"My name is Raikou" he offered a short introduction yet asked nothing of the other below, in return. It wasn't his place to be so forward with those he did not know unless they were burdening him, something Night wasn't doing at all yet for the sake of future premise, a name offered was a face one might recognize.

(This was a slightly difficult post, and because of that it may be short and is part of my reason for taking so long to compile something to respond with. I'm gonna be blunt here. Lucius: your post seemed to be half missing and it seems you didn't interpret Charon's sword crafting and cutting down of the tree correctly. If you misunderstood, I apologize. Let me know these things so I can make my descriptions clearer. And you completely ignored Charon's last rush and attack at Lucius: Eisig Sterben. Without these things acknowledged, it made it difficult for me to post as both of these things that involved you directly.)


Charon's disgust and anger for this vampire continued to grow. Lucius jeered at the wolf and floated away, just and constantly out of his reach. He could have sword he saw the vampire hide behind that tree and thus cut it down around torso level, hopefully causing some sort of damage to the pale human-esque male. However, he was gone and unable to be spotted. "Tch... My den can be repaired, but you will not be able to be recognized after I'm through with you!", Charon retorted. The moment following lulled and there was a slight hum in the air, most likely from Lucius' magicks. His breathing was heavy, but deep, rushing in and out between clenched fangs. The deep creaking of the large tree as it slid off its trunk drowned out the humming in the background. Its leaves rustled through the air as it feel, which was followed by a gigantic, climatic thump. The hum returned, and only the hum. The hum reminisced of a shepherd tone, which made Charon consider Lucius' threat just a little bit more serious. The buildup was nerve-racking.

Lucius had disappeared from his sights, but not from his nose. Tracking him quickly, Charon followed the scent with haste. At this time, it occurred to him that the vampire must know too, that he just reeks of the blood he has spilt. Why would he choose to run with that stench still on him? Unless he was fully aware of this and was luring Charon away. What was his strategy here? He was full with confidence in running, so either he knew or was completely oblivious to it. Finally, Charon saw the pale skin between the countless trees in this forest. Dashing in his direction, Charon prepared his next attack: A tapered needle formed from his palm pad. Appearing just inches from the vampire, behind but off to the side still, he thrust forth the pike that protruded from his palm towards the vampire. "You have no time to worry 'bout your enemy, bloodsucker!", again, Charon retorted. Indeed his arm was in pain, and the reformation of said arm was even more painful. However, he has built up a resistance to the pain, blocking it out. After all, this wasn't the first time such an injury has occurred to him.


(I suppose a reiteration of my previous post was the best I could come up with. I couldn't find anything else to further the fight as Lucius' post didn't do so either. Sorry guys. Noctis needs to stop playing with those humans and get over here, lol.)

Lucius rotated as Charon rushed at him, giggling, an almost maniacal sound, as his own hand lashed out, "You really think you can move faster than I can see?" He laughed, flowing along with Charon's arm, which, admittedly, manage to slice along the front of his left shoulder. Lucius brought his hand along Charon's arm as well, fingers like daggers slicing deeply into the male's arm, drawing forth a welling of blood that sang to his senses. He did, however, refrain from latching onto the arm, and merely licked off of his fingers, rolling his shoulder as he moved away from Charon. "I do admire your speed though, quite impressive, along with your aura." Lucius smiled, seeming to take in a deep breath. "Both it, and your blood, are quite tasty." As he licked his fingers again.

The ball of energy continued to darken, the humming throbbing up to a louder, higher pitch. This time though, the ball gave a shuddering lurch and shrank, condensing down to about the size of a large beach ball. The spinning increased, and the strength of the hum also went up drastically as this happened. "Oh, we are just about done here!" Lucius smiled, giggling slightly again as he continued moving away from Charon. "Human, I would recommend, again, that you leave. This is going to be quite the explosion here shortly when that releases, which it is nigh ready to do!"

((Hope that was a little better, sorry about the last post))

Since technically the story hasn't progressed much with mine and Lucius' most recent posts, I don't know if Noctis is having a hard time posting or just hasn't gotten around to it. Either way I'm saying this in hopes of bumping this thread and to double check with both Noctis and Raikou if perhaps since we've hit a bit of a speed bump, I'll post again to get some fresh material in, then Lucius (hopefully continuing the fresh material) then back on track to Noctis then Raikou.

((I am down with this as well *extra words*))

(Well, lets see if I can revive this thread, since its my fault for taking a month to reply)

He had him now! Thinking he had evaded the wolf, Lucius disappeared and his voice seemed to come from every direction as he taunted his victim. He was full of himself to think he got away from the nose of a beast whom has over the passages of time evolved a sense of smell better than most of the animal kingdom. The blood was a stench that even a pup could smell a mile away and it wasn't before long Charon had found the vampire once again. Attacking with haste, Charon was quick on his feet, taking long strides to make it appear he was zipping from one place to the other. With a sudden rush, the lycanthropic wolf prepared his next attack: a tapered needle that grew from his palm. Confident in this move, and even with the vampire turned away, Charon thrust forward his paw to deliver the final blow, in hopes of creating a frozen statue out of the blood sucking creature. However, Lucius just seemed to float away like a piece of paper, turning to dodge and at the same time whirl around to face Charon. He giggled with deranged glee. Charon was quick, however the vampire seemed to have sharp reflexes and somewhat of a sixth sense. He was too arrogant in his approach. Well, arrogant probably isn't the whole truth to his actions. Furious would describe him better and who could blame him for being so? Someone was toying with not only him, but his property. He was not only upset, angry and vengeful, but also tired, worn out and in need of some R & R. His anger was developing into a rage that didn't consider consequences.

Lucius laughed more, taunting Charon about how slow he was. Not only he missed but his opponent lazily sliced into Charon's other arm, severing tissue with ease as he passed. Blood indeed poured from the wound, but within seconds, the bleeding clotted as it had already begun to heal. Nonetheless, the wolf winced as his arm temporarily fell limp at his side until the muscle tissue regrew. While the assailant licked the treat from his nails, Charon regrouped. The deep slits in his arm slowly closed up as the vampire commended him. It's better to ignore him, Charon thought to himself. Not like he could retort with much anyway.

Attention slowly leaving him, Charon eyed Lucius as he seemed to lose interest of the wolf. He even took the time to warn the others in the area. The sensation of his magics continued to eat slowly at Charon, knowing that what was said about it was true. He needed more time... or perhaps just more speed. Charon could obliterate the vampire in his current form, if only he could reach him! He knew where he could get the speed, but what would be the cost?

"Damnit all!", he cursed to himself as he drove his index and middle fingers into his sternum, right where his heart is. Giving the two fingers a sharp twist, a surge of aura erupted from his form. Blue, hellish flames spawned from his body in an eruption. All of his wounds healed, including his severed arm and the deep cuts on the other. White script wrapped around his form, etched onto his skin and coloring his sooty fur. Bone white horns sprouted from his brows which were tipped with the same blue flame and ears grew longer and pointed like a demons. While Lucius distracted himself, he probably could not ignore the massive aura that took Charon's place. Even if he returned his attention, it would be too late as Charon already begun his next attack. The immense power that inhabited his body surged and just as he stanced to attack, he vanished with incredible speed. So fast that a sonic boom followed his movement. An image of his body reappeared directly in front of the vampire with an outstretched arm. The straight arm rammed right into the throat and upper chest of his opponent in a lariat move. Throwing the vampire to the ground, the damp cold soil beneath wasn't enough to stop him from creating a deep indent in the ground from how strong the strike was. While having little control over this power, Charon found it hard to refrain from jumping on top of the vampire and beating his face in. Luckily the sharp hum of the ball that floated dozens of meters away near his den managed to allow him to gather a few thoughts together. Heading for the ball, Charon looked at Lucius, thinking it better to leave him there. He shouldn't be able to move so quickly after that.

With vanishing speed once again, Charon reached this festering spot near his den near instantly. Crouching down and placing his hands onto the ground, his demon ice quickly spread over the ground that was reducing to nothing. Much like how an amputation would occur, the wound and the surrounding area must be taken into account or else it could still spread. Next, he tried freezing the ball, but it had no effect. It would seem that pure magic couldn't be affected while substance saturated with it was. Reaching a hand out to touch it, the fire aura that surrounded his form elongated from his clawed hand and took shape of his appendage. The giant, blue fire, hand reached for and took hold of the swirling ball of pure magic. Even at his super strength, Charon still had difficulty moving it. Sparks began to fly as pure energy was being released, tearing the magic away from its cast point. It felt heavy, but still able to retain hold. Once removed, Charon could feel it vibrating more. Sensing its detonation, he panicked of how to dispose of it. Looking up, there was a clearing of trees. He knew what to do. Crouching down, he jumped high into the air, however barely enabling to clear the tree tops as the heavy magic ball weighed him down. The feiry aura acted as somewhat of a slingshot as Charon heaved it into the air, shooting it high into the sky, becoming a small glimmer as it sailed several hundred meters upward. Just as he landed back to the Earth, Charon glanced up to witness an explosion that surely would have decimated his den and possibly half of Glisan forest.

(Sorry if I'm powerplaying a little heavy, but with some of the contact Charon received from Lucius, I figured I could take a little control over it. Surely you didn't think Lucius would have his way the whole time ;P )