Information Technology. (Cayden)

She could hear it coming behind her the zoom of the mechanical being rushing through the air, stream lined and fast it was akin to the sound of a knife slicing at speed.
She had been running for so long now her lungs burned with each breath, every inhale feeling like her organs would burst into flames and explode from her chest.
Her every muscle aches with the cramps of over exertion but she pushed on, she knew she had something to do and that was to keep it from finding her new home and in doing so she had found herself by a cost line she had never seen before, not knowing where to go or where to escape.

A bar code had been burned into the inside of her wrist and it seemed to have found her via tracking it.
Two weeks ago a during a normal pub shift a patron had come in and swiftly become aggressive, grabbing her to burn the mark into her flesh. He did not explain why only said her kind were not wanted anymore.
She had brushed it off as a heated attack and not told anyone, having kept the mark to herself but she now knew just how wrong she was.
Once again she was being chased and once again she had to run, only this time she had things she cared about and something to lose.

She couldn't shake it no matter what she tried. All she could think of was keep moving.
Glancing over her shoulder she gasped, it was right behind her. The shape of a crescent with mechanical arms it floated whizzing through the air, within it were weapons she had never seen before and didn't wish to.
Her foot caught sending her sprawling hard into the sand, her face scraping against it grazing the flesh.

It transformed then, taking a human looking form as it advanced, grabbing her leg it dragged her towards it pulling her upwards to release her throwing her back down against the earth again with force enough to knock the wind from her, a scream that had been about to escape vanishing back into a thought as stars danced before her eyes.
Digging her feet into the floor beneath her she used any sense she had left to try and get traction, to pull herself away from the machine but it was no use a clawed like structure clamping down onto her upper arm crushing the bone there with a splintering sound which renewed the screams this time allowing them to escape into the evening air.

The grass passed beneath his paws, eyes a trance upon the earthen floor as it seemed to endlessly sweep below him, his nose taking in all the scents that had walked this earth yet focusing only on the one known to him. How far had he been tracking her, Veita had come such a distance in what seemed like such a short space of time, Cayden didn't at all like the pace that she was taking. In most cases the pursuit of another meant that their scent would get stronger the closer you got though at his speed, hers seemed to fade more and more into against the wind and left him at a loss, he wasn't moving quick enough and if Veita was on the run, what was it that she was running from.

Further back North, Cayden had been a little preoccupied lately, it went without saying that he hadn't exactly spent the most time with Veita while he had been trying to find a healthy balance between her and pack life, the fae still very much a loner in the sense that she clung to no pack and such was a life that Cayden knew and had expected to struggle a little with while still adapting to falling under the Kostas, himself. To think however that the distance might have pushed her away didn't sit well with him, it didn't add up. The two were nowadays mates and had she ever the need to complain, Cayden would listen; and she knew that about him.

What had been a slow trot in tailing her scent gradually escalated into a full on sprint, his legs and paws colliding with the ground and throwing dirty and grass about his wake as he decided that the cause for her leave must have been a second party. Whatever guilt he might have felt suddenly turned to panic and concern the harder he ran and the more he thought on the matter. Strange that there wasn't a second scent to pick up yet instinct and knowing Veita the way he did spelled notion that all was not right in the slightest...

...And there it was, the knife that cut the tension and stole his reason in frantic and dire straits, the scream that was so horribly familiar to him. His fur shred not an instant within hearing the sound, his body contorting as he keeled over and gritted his teeth, growling viciously as he moved to make the change back into his human form, his attire coming fourth too using the method Raikou had helped him to create, will power and the former body's remains changing shape and color to take on the appearance that was so common for him. His fiery red hair breaching his scalp and growing to fall down in front of his eyes, his tan hooded jacket left open to bare his chest, scars and all with the red trip around the sleeves; his loosely worn pants that sagged around the leggings, his version of a fighting fit attire. She couldn't have been more than a few kilometers away.


A flash of red, eyes burning with a merciless taste for blood, his right hand extended as his form flew across Veita's fallen self, flying over top of her and sending his knuckles into the side of the metallic alloy with such a force that his skin rippled atop his hand and his bones cracked and splintered beneath the impact. He couldn't hear himself yelling in all the fury that had taken him, the pain went amiss, something to feel when the adrenaline would finally slip away later yet his one desire that overcame every sense of reason and logic in him was to rip the contraption apart. The drone was alien to him, foreign in that he'd never seen technology of such an advanced like yet having seen it move to finish his mate, he'd breached the underbrush and struck out with no hesitation, and all his anger he had pent up inside.

The humanoid drone flew a few feet. When it struck the ground floor it seemed to crumble and tear through the earth, debris cascading around it's heavy body as it slid several more meters before finally coming to a half on its back. Cayden panting as he stood upright, his landing having been rather more graceful, sliding against the souls of his feet, bare to the earth, he stood between the machine and Veita now, his right hand dripping with blood, broken from the blow he'd dealt the foe.

To his horror, the Drone slowly began to recover, moving to collect itself and rise back to its feet, standing before Cayden virtually unaffected.

The pain was blinding searing its way up the rest of her arm to spread across her chest as though it were made of flames. Eyes burning she fought still to push herself away when suddenly she was released, lying there for a second as her sense returned she shook her head forcing herself to sit up, someone was screaming she focused pushing her working hand to the floor to stand upon shaking legs then she realized the mist clearing that it was Cayden, her stomach dropped everything else falling away until nothing mattered other then the fact it was him and he was now also in danger. She had done her best to lead the thing away from them all and that had not been good enough. Before her was her worst nightmare she would rather have died then let it hurt him.

The machine was upon the floor, parts of it scattered around the sands Cayden had caused it damage yet again it started to rise. She tried to think her eyes running over it quickly as she darted to stand before Cayden's side, she didn't care about her arm or her bruised and battered body she was not about to let him stand alone in a fight that had been directed upon her. She was small in stature and much less imposing then her mate but she would die before it hurt him without her at least trying to stop it.

She glanced to Cayden then took another step forward, she wished she could have transformed but her arm didn't allow her, the broken bones would tear and warp the skin leaving her worse off then she all ready was, she would have to settle for her human form and call up all the strength she had.
She thought she had seen a weakness, but she would have to get close and onto it's shoulders to test it out.

She moved, while it still collected itself, passed Cayden and towards it, her legs carrying her at speed, she wanted to plant her foot against it's chest and curl herself upwards so she was seated upon its shoulders. It how ever caught her foot whipping it upwards then hurting it back towards the floor once again turning her into it's own rag doll.
The impact was as bad as before yet it caused more pain, she cried out but knowing Cayden was in danger she didn't remain prone she rolled back over, waiting for it to be distracted.

Cayden instantly moved to crouch next to Veita as she tried to regain her composure, his eyes on the drone...-thing; his ears attentively awaiting her response as he spoke quickly and quietly to her, "Whatever the hell this thing is, we can't take it head on...", his eyes narrowed as he watched the drone begin to approach them once more. His right hand had began to throb with a stinging pain, a wound self inflicted in his rush to aid her, now proving to feel just as bad as his mangled knuckles appeared, bloodied and bone fragments slightly out of place beneath the skin of his hand. "Follow my lead..." He said in an almost commanding tone, his mind on the battle before them, not having intended to appear to be barking orders at his mate but rather focusing on the urgency ahead; "Find an opening when it's off guard..." He added swiftly before rising back to his feet and moving ahead.

His pace quickly escalated and he moved to sprint towards the foreign looking contraption, his mind working to play out as best a strategy as he could manage, though relying on Veita to do the same. His right hand wasn't going to be much use now though he wasn't going to be counted out by a single injury when he still had a fight to give.

The Drone turned it's attention on Cayden, thrusting it's left arm out at him in a stunningly fast jab. It caught the young males cheek, his skin breaking beneath it as the force of the blow caved in against his teeth, knowing a couple of them out, forced to swallow one of them; crying out in yell of pained start. Cayden fell backwards, veering off in something of an awkward spin, his right hand instinctively looking to catch the ground though collapsing against it as his injury offered no strength in his recovery. Dirt and dust flew up about him as he scrambled to get to his feet once more, panting heavily, his breath lost by the second blow, he swore under his breath in frustration, quickly stepping back several paces to avoid a third attack, his eyes shifting from that of the drone to Veita hoping she might have used the fumbled approach as a means to go on the attack.

Cayden was beside her before she had a chance to collect her wits, he spoke of working together and she nodded though that was far from what she wanted, she wanted Cayden to be well away from this place and what ever monster that was before them she wanted him safe and if that meant she would run from him then that is what she would do, once this creature was dealt with. Running was like second nature to Veita standing to fight had only ever proven to end in immense pain or death of those around her.
"No, head on hurts" she started to get back up again her eyes not leaving the metallic being which hunted her so intensely "I got branded, its following that..." she spoke quickly knowing they didn't have much time. "I have never seen it before"
As Cayden got up she also settled upon her feet, it was different seeing him in such a light he seemed to come into his own, it was reassuring and frightening at the same time. "Ok"

The sequence of events that followed came so quickly they were hard to follow, Cayden moved only to be met with a savage blow causing him to cry out in pain. Her gut twisted at the sound of the impact upon him an almost primal need to protect him gripping her to her core, she moved faster then she had done when she was only protecting herself, her smaller body darting quickly around the back of the beast as its intent was still upon her mate.

She would carry out what she meant to do in the first place. Left foot meeting it's 'back upper leg' she pushed upwards throwing herself into the air to catch herself astride the back of it's neck each leg wrapping around the front holding the head in a grip.
Twisting her whole body she threw herself down to the ground with enough force to twist and bring the robotic beast with her dislodging its head from what ever mounted it there.
The two figures fell, but mid way to the earth a trigger sounded the metal being blasting away into flames in some sort of self destructive mechanism sending Veita's form hurling away towards the breaking waves.

Veita was on the move again and despite his thrown back state, Cayden sought to do the same, keeping the drones attention on him, he once more went for the head on, knowing full well it was reckless and likely more damaging to him that it might be to the mechanical monster. His feet hit the ground in landing right before the foe, Cayden springing up to throw his body in a three-sixty degree, throwing out his right foot in a sweeping arc to connect with the things head, to little avail. The Drone countering his attack with a stoic and staunch kick to his chest that stole the breath from his lungs and forced him to stumble backwards, his right hand reaching for his heart as pain shot throughout his torso, left shoulder and his neck.

Not knowing the damage that had been done in that simple counter, his eyes found Veita as she mounted the drone and proceeded to decapitate it with martial arts tactics, the likes that he didn't know she was capable of. Still in close proximity to the two, his brows lifted as a moment of relief passed over him seeing the mechanical spark from it's alloy and wires being twisted, splintered and breaking away from the main body. He didn't have time to piece together what came next.

The shock-wave hit him full force first before the smoke and the flames engulfed him and shot him back across the ground, bouncing and caving over as he rolled, helpless to keep himself in control against the torrents and momentous explosion, the drone having some sort of counter attack to even it's own demise.

Cayden came out of the chaos, his body sliding against the hard dirt as he screamed out, his flesh burned and searing as steam rose up off of his body, curled into the fetal position, he'd never been hit with so much agony, so much force that could have crippled him in such an instant yet finding his right hand grasping at the soiled earth beneath him, he remembered that he was not alone. Turning, he tried to stretch out against the ground, seeking some secure footing though struggling as his skin felt like it was almost cracking against every moment, his body blackened by the smoke that was now steadily rising up around the crater that had been their point of attack. "Veita..." He tried to call out, his voice catching and forcing himself to gasps for air, his throat feeling parched and possible having inhaled some of the heat during the attack.

It took everything he had to push himself to his feet, his teeth gritting and threatening to fracture against each other as he groaned in angry and stubborn refusal to be defeated, refusal to not be able to reach his mate. "Veita!" He called desperately, his eyes narrowing as smoke blew back with the breeze to take his vision. His foot catching something solid in the earth and forcing him to collapse, he hit the ground flat on his front and once more lost the air in his torso, coughing and spluttering blood from his mouth; Cayden turned to find the head of the drone sitting within the debris. To yell and curse the thing, to repeatedly hit it would have been his typical youthful response had he been alone...

By the time he did find Veita, he found her laying unconscious a little further ahead upon her back. "Veita...-No, c'mon wake up!" he pleaded as he approached and fell to both knees, reaching for her body and taking her by the shoulders, hands gripping her reluctantly, hoping not to worsen the pain though unable to think the worse as she looked in worse state than he was, she'd taken the blow in point blank range. "Babe...-Don't do this to me..." He half growled, his eyes tearing up as he leaned in to try to listen for her breathing or find any sign that she was still alive, "I can't lose you..." His voice wavered, threatening to fall apart of himself as his desperation took over and failed to find any hopeful response from her.

Be it fate or the will of something higher, Raikou Diasu found himself staring off above the height of the trees as an explosion lit up the sky horizon. He'd almost reached Muchani City, carrying a cart with him to be filled with supplies intent for his new homestead when his thoughts had been cut short by the deafening thunder that shot a ripple of air screaming passed him and carrying the sound of the eruption throughout the forest.

The Ronin stood motionless for but a moment, his eyes scowering the far-plane as far as the tree's would allow him to see as he considered ignoring it knowing the nature of most of the worthwhile fighters in the land yet he couldn't bring himself not to approach the incident knowing full well that such a thing could've come from an entity much darker, conflicting with the mortal realm of men and women. With a silent grace, his form disappeared from the ground floor, leaving the cart stale and empty below him as he sought to find the tree's, stepping with such a pace that he could move from one to the next and avoiding anything else that might halt him from the human cut path through the forest.

The closer he found himself getting to the source of the explosion, the swifter his body seemed to want to propel himself. Fully aware of his subconscious urgency, his eyes narrowed against the wind that whipped up against his face, soon breaching the tree line and leaping out to land upon the field and continue his pursuit; something telling him that this was of a familiar tragedy, an offense far to close to home in his heart. Cayden was in trouble again...

He seemed to have arrived a little late for the show, finding the two and the burning remains of something that carried a shine against the sunlight coming down from above, he slowed to a steady walk, speaking up to inform Cayden of his presence so that the male wouldn't lash out at him in all his youthful hot-headed despair, a female laying injured and unmoving beneath him. "Look for a pulse.." He quietly encouraged Cayden though at the same time, spoke as if instructing and educating him, the Ronin and the youth carrying a much closer bond than was public light. Raikou on the other hand moved first to inspect the source of the blast, finding his eyes upon the head of the android like creature, he hummed to himself under his breath in thoughtful murmer; recognizing quite quickly that whatever had come for them, was of human design and not of his target.

The heat meeting her flesh was the last thing in which Veita was aware of, no pain came and no impact the world seemed to stop in it's tracks the resounding thought she had before nothingness replaced where she had been were ones of panic that Cayden had not been far enough away to escape harm.
Some time passed by she was not sure how long but eventually she started to surface.
Sitting up with a start eyes wide with shock took in her surroundings. She was alone, upon the beach the sands being untouched by even her own foot steps as though she were dropped there by an unknown entity. "Cayden!?" her voice carried loud and high into the air around her, at a pitch she was not all to familiar with laced with panic.
Rushing to her feet she found them to be bare, warm sand welcoming her toes forcing its way through as she began to make way circling round multiple times as she did.
Nothing hurt, everything was quiet until she heard the sound of a cry, it was a repeat of the sound Cayden had made when the hit connected with him.
Her stomach twisted into knots her eyes frantically trying to locate the source as she began to run in it's direction only for another one to come this time in the direction she had just come from. Turning she ran back to have the same thing repeat itself.
Tears filled her eyes, he was somewhere in pain and she couldn't get to him, his name left her lips again in a frantic scream as her fingers curled in her hair in frustration, his cry growing louder until it surrounded her seeping into her like water into the earth, she couldn't escape it.
"Where are you?" a sob left her lips as she fell to her knees a pain forming deep within her chest before spreading across her entire body, she didn't care though all she wanted was him.
Slamming her palms to the ground again she pushed herself up, unwilling to go down without a fight "I'm coming" she started to run her feet carrying her without her minds direction possessed with the need to find him.

Outwardly there had been no change to Veita, her flesh had not started to heal, her wounds still wept the impact and the heat from the blast to much for her body to counter so soon, she clung to life but only through sheer will, she needed Cayden and wasn't ready to leave him yet. That and that alone was keeping her from slipping away.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up only seconds before her heard the voice of Raikou Diasu behind him, "Sensei?..." He muttered under his breath, pausing in want to turn to acknowledge his mentor though following his suggestion; silently damning himself for not having done so sooner instead. His hands were shaking, trembling a better word for it as he reached to touch both sides of her neck and apply a slight ounce of pressure in order to confirm her life or otherwise. His eyes widening, shoulders falling as he released a long slow exhale in relief, exclaiming in almost loss of breath "She's still alive...".

His body ached tremendously, his human frame had taken the blunt force from whatever that mechanical contraption had been and it'd rattled him to the core of his bones, his right hand was broken and he would be lucky to discover later that his shoulder hadn't been broken. Fatigued and with such exhaustion baring down over him, Cayden forced himself to push his arms beneath of veita, hoisting her up into his hold and shakily rising to both feet, turning to look back now upon the Ronin who appeared to be searching the area for clues as to what'd happened.

"Veita was attacked by that thing...-I don't know what the hell it was but it had a body of steel, the fucking thing broke my goddamn hand..." He swore, biting out the words in contempt for the thing, "Veita managed to take it's head off..." He cringed thinking back, his body still reeling from the burns shown all up his torso and left side of his face, it'd all heal but the pain was excruciating still, "It had some sort of countermeasure, blew itself up and nearly took us out with it. It's a miracle she's still alive, Veita was closer to the blast..." his gaze shifted back to Veita and the reality of the seriousness of the situation sank in once again. "Sensei, I need to get her somewhere safe...-She's being tracked but I can't fight like this and she needs to recover...".

Cayden's nerves must have been shot for the young male to call upon him by the title of Sensei, not something done in a very long time since their first six months of training together. Back then it had been spoken out of sarcasm and mockery for the life that he, the Ronin led though today Cayden seemed to have a much more obvious air of confidence and respect about him, enough so for Raikou to dip his head once in acknowledgement and soon turned to leave the fallen dismembered alloy skull only to approach Cayden and the female now in his arms.

"There is a place not far from here, a days journey to the west, Muchani on the other hand is a day and a half in the opposite direction..." He turned half way to allow Cayden the glance of sight to look passed him, his eyes never leaving the female however as he wondered how and why she was being tracked. "She will be a consistent risk though should we reach Kodoku-numa, I have scrolls set about the place...". Unlike the Ninja who used such arts as the Nimpou hand signs, Raikou was much more natural in the majority of his tactics, the scrolls a written seal with hidden charge, enough to explode and take most who tripped the so called 'trap' into harms way.

Raikou slowly turned back for the dismembered androids skull, picking it up into the palm of his left hand and carrying it away from the blast zone, he soon nodded to Cayden; "We should waste no time...-I trust you still know how to use that human body of yours as I taught you. I hope your father hasn't been letting you slack off from your training...". Raikou exhaled a slight huff and it'd be the only gesture of amusement offered in the moment, all around them was the potential now for ambush and his eyes seemed to move off from one side of their line of sight to the other, always keeping himself on the high guard as the trio began to move towards the lonely swamp of the Volcanic Grounds.

(Apologies, I am rather exhausted again today!)

The more she looked and couldn't find him the more she panicked it was a nightmare and one that seemed to get worse by the second. His scream never let up only grew louder and louder until she found herself having to cover hear ears her eyes streaming with tears.
She didn't stop looking, not until a jolt similar to an electric shock pulsed through her, painful and startling, one then another until she fell to hands and knees then collapsed into the sand her self contained world fading away as she started to wake back to reality.

She was met with more pain then she had encountered before the act of breathing alone making tears string to close eyelids, every inch of her felt like it were still on fire, yet she also felt deathly cold the contrast was uncomfortable and down right agonizing but some how through her haze she realized that she was within someones arms, she didn't have to open her eyes to know who. If she could have inhaled deep enough to sigh with relief she would have instead she concentrated on waking properly to look upon him knowing the thing had hurt him too.

Her hand found his arm her fingers curing to grip onto it, she heard him speaking and realized they were not alone but she did not care, she had him and that was all that mattered. Her lips parted in a wheeze and she forced out a lung full of air carrying his name in a rasp upon it.

Caydens eyes fell to look down upon Vieta at the whisper of his name, his eyes widening and a half smile, wary yet glad to see that she hadn't been taken from him yet. "Hang in there babe..." He whispered to her, his eyes glancing off to his right as Raikou was moving along at his side and seemingly watching Cayden as if he'd done something he shouldn't have.
"We need to speed this up" Cayden responded to his watch, hoping to move them alot at a greater pace, carrying Veita in both arms and forcing himself to up the pace; expecting Raikou to guide them in the right direction. Reliant on the Ronin for Veita's survival. Something that didn't come easily for Cayden, trusting in others though Raikou had about as much trust from Cayden as his father did and that was worlds apart from the majority Cayden came to interact with in his day to day.


He sat in front of the fire, not alone yet the company he had had yet to truly grow on him; upon the other side of the campfire, Raikou Diasu sat cooking some sort of rodent hitched up upon the end of a stick held above the flames.

The two had not been training for very long and Cayden had been reluctant to agree to his fathers request that Raikou teach him a better manner of combat, having seen Bushido as a path that might help mature the youth, much to Cayden's desire to do as he pleased, he'd accepted thinking that it would at-least help him to acquire some better abilities; Wolfmortum's took to much out of him as powerful as it was, it always ended in him exhausting himself and falling into a dark depression.

"So...-You monks are like, celibate and shit right?", he'd made the comment trying to provoke him sort of conversation out of the Ronin. The response for his sarcasm had been silence, a slight look as if to say 'don't push it' before the night had continued on and Raikou the Samurai, basically ignoring him the evening. It wasn't until about a good week later where the older male opened up some, after something of an intense battle between them both in training that'd rendered Cayden unable to stand any further, his reward was yet another lecture, this time about weakness and exploitation. It was at that point where Cayden knew that Raikou had had someone once, and the assumption was that he'd lost them too. He didn't ask again following that night long back.


A marshland, hidden beneath all the mist and ash filled tree-heights, the swamp was not at all what Cayden had expected; and in the middle of it all that felt like it stretched for a kilometer or two, Raikou led the pair to a number of little houses standing high upon the water bank. Illuminated by oil laterns hanging from the rooftops.

"How the hell did you come about this place?..." He muttered under his breath, carrying Veita closer to Kodoku-numa, searching for the warmest of the huts so that she could rest and recover.

Cayden seemed to fill in the time by losing himself to his thoughts, Raikou watching and observing the youth as he carried his partner, straining over the high slopes and finding silent relief in the downhill, all the while pretending that it wasn't putting a strain on his back; Admirable as it was, Cayden obviously still felt he had something to prove. Maybe it had been in the way that the Ronin had sought to train him, to harden him. At the time of first meeting the younger male, Cayden had seemed so openly vulnerable, what with so much hatred and resentment for being abandoned; or so he'd thought. Having to roam the wilds alone for so much of his younger, more fragile days. Raikou had tried to pull Cayden away from his immediate feelings to focus on a long term goal and to try to instill a sense of integrity in him atop of all his angst. The result however, did not etch away at his pride but rather built upon his impulsiveness, his passions and strengthened him in being able to fight for what he believed in, not necessarily a failure though not holding the restraint that meant he could meet the strict lifestyle of the Samurai; it had been Raikou's hope that Cayden would eventually surpass him and be able to call upon Bushido as his own life, his honor.

They'd sped up their pace and eventually found themselves standing upon the ground of Kodoku-numa, Raikou soon taking the lead as opposed to directing the pair. The mist seemed to cling to the earth around the area, rising up beyond head height for a couple meters or so though leaving the skylight clear to rain down in through the ashen trees. "I've spent many a full moon wandering these lands, the ground is not what society would call agri-culturally fit though I like the place. The air here is dense though it is safe, secure in that no one will come looking for us here" He nodded firmly to Cayden, his eyes glancing down to the female pursing his lips though withholding any further remark, he soon continued to lead them both to his hut among the many.

Sliding the door open, Raikou removed his foot-ware and soon told Cayden to do the same before bringing him and the girl to the Ronin's own quarters and gesturing for the youth to leave her upon the bedding, a pair of mattresses ribbed and soft enough to mold around Veita's form offering a decent comfort. "You may both stay here as long as you please...-I have wards set up around the perimeter, no one will enter this place without my knowing of it".

Cayden's voice instantly soothed her though she wished that he was not carrying her she could smell he was injured but she knew she had little choice she could barely feel her limbs beside pain so she knew she wouldn't have been able to carry herself enough to walk just yet.
She zoned in and out of` what was going on as they moved and she didn't look to see where she didn't care, they were both alive and that for now was all that mattered, they would deal with anything else later on.

The air around them changed becoming still and warmer it was an indication that they had come inside, Cayden for the most part had been quiet leaving someone else to talk, she had done the same but unlike her mate she had not listened she had kept her head tucked against him, her eyes closed listening to the signs of life coming from in as a way to keep herself calm and focused.
Now they were inside she knew that would now be short lived and he would be moving her soon and she would have to let go of him to face what ever pain her body had in store for her.
Her fingers curled into the remains of his clothing, she didn't want to let go but she wouldn't make it more awkward then it all ready was.
She switched her focus from his breathing to her own and started to pay more attention to her own body, feeling just where the pain was, hoping that she would be able to deal with it without freaking out in front of her mate.

His body had ached so horribly yet he had refused to give in to the agony that screamed for him to stop; to resign everything wasn't the wolf that he was. Be it pride or defiance in the face of love and loss, Cayden had managed this much and soon lay Veita upon the bed, turning briefly to glance over his shoulder as he looked back to Raikou Diasu, speaking gently "You still collect and craft those old herbal remedies right, old timer?". The Samurai of which simply nodded and moved to collect the appropriate plants, doing what he knew best and what he had done for Cayden so many times after training; mulching up an assortment of herbs and adding a portion of water to mix up a paste that would seek to amplify the bodies natural healing process, Cayden turned back to look to his mate, his expression breaking away from the feigned confidence he held, instead softening as he watched the woman he had fallen for suffer under the infliction of their foreign enemy. "I swear I will kill who ever did this to her..." He spoke out to his former Sensei in confidence and promise; for a moment allowing his anger to consume and mask just how vulnerable he truly felt in the wake of Veita's predicament.

He'd been told once by another that falling in love would only mean opening himself to heart break and weakness in the end of all things. It hadn't made sense at the time coming from a male who looked upon his mother in such a distinguished pride yet looking down at Veita, Cayden feared that perhaps he'd been right. The outside world began to fade as his thoughts took him from the live moment only to darken everything in his peripherals and leave Veita within view, his emotions getting the best and worse of him as he wondered just was he going to lose the one person that he felt really understood him and not only that, despite knowing who he was, she loved him all the same, something he himself truly could not do for himself and so, adding to the helplessness that he felt in the overwhelming hole that threatened to swallow him.

A touch to his shoulder shook him out of his inner fears and brought him back to the presence, Raikou soon handing him the large bowl that held a disgusting smell yet a familiar one, the herbal mix that had almost miraculously kept Cayden from death when his Sensei had near killed him in training. "Arigato.." He spoke in Raikou's old tongue before turning his attention back to Veita and carefully yet not without means, applied the treatement to the burned portions of his mates body, speaking further this time to her as he did so; "This will give your body a bit of a kick start to heal your wounds...-It's going to sting a little babe but bare with me...-Give it more credit than it deserves, despite the look of this shit, it's very strong...".

To hear Cayden speak in his own language was not something he was accustomed to, never having confirmed with the younger male that he spoke Japanese; it seemed Cayden had done some little research during their time together. 'Had I let something slip?' the Ronin considered in his silence as he watched his student deliver the herbal treatment, his eyes soon traveling across to that of the female Veita who so deserved to live had she welcomed such attention from Cayden and in turn, brought about such a warm side to the boy than Raikou had experienced thus far; It wasn't that Raikou didn't have faith in Cayden that he could be anything heart felt or self expressive but that the younger brute had grown up through a past history that Raikou had understood in a similar light and so too knew from Cayden's own recollections that the young Nekishu didn't like to let out his feelings to the public light so easily, atleast not without great value in the one who provoked such an open show.

"I leave this in your hands, Cayden..." Raikou dipped his head, bending ever so slightly at his waist in a respectful bow; a gesture that was both formal and appreciative of the other, a sign that Cayden had earned more than mere acknowledgement but so too Raikou's faith in his ability to sustain the situation before them. "Should you need me, I will be heading for Muchani and will reach it within two days".

With nothing further to add, Raikou stepped outside before his former student could argue, not wishing to give Cayden a reason to doubt himself while there was more experienced help standing before him, Raikou knew the youth to be more able than he'd come to accept and moving away from the foundings of Kodoku-numa, the Ronin soon relieved himself to the darkness of the ashen covered wood of bamboo and green leaves, disappearing to embark on the travel he meant for in order to resupply the small settlement.

Her awareness had been coming and going in a wave like fashion as Cayden had been walking with her, she knew she was safe and as long as she held onto Cayden she knew that he was also. They were together and as far as she was concerned even in the amount of pain they were in that was exactly where they were supposed to be.
As he lay her down separating himself from her she clung to his shirt until it was to painful and she had to let go leaving her to curl into herself upon what ever surface she had been placed against. It was not new to her to feel so vulnerable, the pain was a new one though she had never been burned before. She clung to her own flesh fearing that it would fall off or burst into flames again.

She forced her stinging eyes open, she couldn't feel Cayden so she would have to look at him, she knew he was hurt so she had to keep him in her sights for fear that something awful would happen.
Once again he was speaking with the strange man, she didn't try to listen, she just let her mate swim within her vision she barely noticed when the other left them.
Cayden spoke to her and she nodded her head without really hearing, she trusted him, it didn't matter. She longed for the moment their flesh healed enough to allow them to touch one another without pain.
The poultice applied was as foul smelling as warned the stinging sensation caused gritted teeth and a small hiss from her but as soon as the pain mounted it faded away leaving a soothing feeling in it's wake.
Silence fell for some time until she had some strength back, Cayden busy applying the concoction to her various burns.
"Cayden..where are you hurt?"

Even in her state she was not about to be silenced by a lie that he fed her, she felt like hell but what ever the cream was that he put on her was dulling the pain to more of a blanket ache. Cayden could not keep up his ruse as his legs sent him to the floor, she doubted he knew just how terrible he looked. He had fought to save her now she would do the same for him, she would never be able to live with herself if he died, she might as well die with him.
Placing her palms against the bed she pushed herself upright, she knew he wouldn't like it but he was a far cry away from being able to stop her.
Now the immediate threat had worn off his body was probably relaxing to the point of shutting down.

Sliding down the bed she leaned over her pain now hidden as he hid his from her, she picked up the remaining cream the foreign mad had made and scooped some up into her hands where she moved around in front of Cayden to apply the left over to his own wounds.
"I don't know what it was Cayden" She moved his clothing aside so she could look a frown befalling her brow.
"Stop talking" she pressed a finger to his lips and then went back to her work. "Relax"

The night that followed seem to drag on for far longer than Cayden was accustomed to, his wounds had been tended to by Veita and while he presumed she'd been sleeping, he'd remained by her side the entire time doing his utmost to stay awake and remain able to hear as much as was possibly coming and going near their temporary shelter. Well into near dawn, the sky becoming bloodied by the first rays from the sun breaching the heads of the mountain Rockies, Cayden quietly wondered what had become of Raikou; though it was not unlike the old man to give him the space when he was in company, the old hermit these days didn't much seem to favor the companionship of others anymore, Cayden the exception to this only due to his being placed before the Ronin's training.

As the hours passed, his eyes grew heavier, his midsection wrapped tightly in bandaging in Veita's attempt to settle his ribs, the two both hoping that he hadn't broken them and assuming the pressure would restrain movement; had there been an incident ahead of them, his want to rise at their defense would be a painful one yet they were fortunate as despite Cayden's expectations, no further attack came to present itself.

Quietly, he was left to roam his thoughts in the dark silence alone, comforted by the touch and warmth of Veita's body, his head turned into her and he placed his forehead against the back of her shoulder, his eyes closing yet his mind moving back over the attack to what had led to their place in the strange little village of the Samurai's. Their opponent had been some kind of machine, that much had been obvious. A skeletal frame of metals and mechanics, Cayden hadn't come across anything quite like it before. To add insult to their injury, when they finally had managed to somehow overcome it, it had initiated some sort of self destruct sequence like you'd see in the human moving pictures.

With no answers from the remains of the battle and no hints or even a notion of an explanation from Veita, his brows furrowed; Concerned that this wasn't going to be the last time the two of them had ran into something so foreign and so merciless.

She had tended to any injuries she could see on Cayden and any injuries she suspected to be there, taking care to minimize any pain and impact they would have upon him. She had done so silently feeling a heavy weight of guilt upon her with every new injury she had found. She didn't know how she could have avoided Cayden coming to her aid and getting injured but she wish she had, running to the furthest point had not helped. While it was a testament to his love for her she would have done anything to protect him and now she had only gone and got him hurt. Planting a kiss on his shoulder as gently as she could she turned and curled up to herself until she had fallen into a sleep.

Her sleep was one that was much deeper then her usual ones her body having been exhausted. Eventually when she did wake she felt Cayden to her back his body warm against her. She had lifted her lids but she looked straight ahead for some time, content in her stillness that the pain had not returned other then an ache. She was happy to listen to Cayden's even breathing.
She did not know how much time had gone when she finally decided to move. She rolled over with slight grimace, her forehead meeting Cayden's where it had been against her from her back. She closed her eyes again, one of her arms going to his back where she traced her fingers along the bandaging there gently willing away any pain that he might have been in.