Southern Amaine Woodlands

Birds chirped overhead in the depths of the Amaine woods. Any further south, the air would become bitterly cold and one would see ice forming off branches as it would mean one would be crossing into the forbidden frosted land known as the 'Domain of the Pales' which has been called such since time primordial thanks to the vampires that stalk the southern ice caps under the leadership of Carmilla of House Carmilla... or at least, they had before she 'vanished' eighteen years ago. However, this stretch of land was far more temperate, though signs warn weary and lost travelers of the dangers of the frosted polar snaps and vampires should one continue southward; no one would expect to see a vampire this far north from the Domain however...

---

Noss Fortaeu quietly continued to collect herbs and medicinal supplies along the area of the south most Amaine Woodlands; her small black eyes glaring southward brought up memories of a former life with the pales of the south. A life she was no longer a part of. Noss was a free vampire since Carmilla vanished, well... even before that. She had been banished over 500 years ago so she had a lot of free time. Noss' tight fitting dress hugged her very alluring curves like a second skin; her bum waddling left and right as she swiftly moved on to the next bushel of herbs.



Aye, Noss has a very alluring body, like most vampires. However, one would notice her large hands and odd face upon a closer inspection. This is because, Noss...was a slightly rarer breed of vampire known as a Nosferatu, who were vampires who retained more of their demonic traits to be effective, living weapons on the battlefield. They were also, in spite of their flaws, usually quite eloquent and refined in their speech, making them effective diplomats. Noss herself was House Carmilla's Speaker, its most trusted adviser to Countess Carmilla and a loyal diplomat that could talk a dragon out of its scales! Though... that was before... well, a lot has happened since. Most of her kind were eliminated by humans during the Century of Blood in the Far North, so Nosferatu were rare even among vampire-kind these days. It was all a life she left behind when Carmilla kicked her out. She has since lived in these deep woodlands with her daughter and adopted daughter, well... before both 'flew the Belfry' so to speak.

Noss continued to collect herbs as the long branches overhead shielded her pale skin from the sun; not that it would ash her anyway~

After a few moments, a small group of four humans, dressed haphazardly in pieced together outfits, entered the clearing. They seemed on edge, tweaking on chems, and paniced. Amaine Forest was NOT the correct choice to flee into. They had lost three during the fight with the ADN, before fleeing into the forest. But the new horrors that occupied the place took out the fast majority of the gang in a matter of days. Picking people off of the group one by one, sometimes leaving mangled corpses and body parts for them to find, but more often than not, all that was left was patches of blood and torn clothing.

This, these four had been inside the forest for roughly four days, were horribly lost, tired, running low on supplies and ammo, and desperate. Heck, at this point they'd rather take life in ADN Prison than face the horrors of Amaine, and that awful feeling that they were being watched by something... evil.

"We ain't goin' no further 'till we've had a breather!" said the smaller male. the scrawny man sat on a tree stump, out of breath and sweating.

"Get a fire going!" ordered the female leader, a tall raven haired woman with dark eyes and what looked like war paint. The other two, a larger man and a thin woman started gathering firewood and some rocks to create a small campfire. Nobody had noticed the black clad Noss in the herb bushes yet.

"What the hell have we been led into Trix. It was supposed to be a simple job. Lift some wallets and coinpurses clean getaway into the badlands. Nobody was meant to get killed. ADN wasn't meant to be there, and we were definitely not meant to retreat into this Hell infested forest. Fuck... We've lost 30 people. That's most of the gang... It's all gone to shit." said the first man, even as he downed a handfull of pills and drank em down with a bottle of whisky. His eyes dilated almost immediately as the cocktail of chemicals and stims took effect, trying to numb the pain, and forget the nightmares he had seen over the past few days. "It's all gone to shit..." he repeated.

"Oh for fuck sake Jack! You damn Crackhead! We need you lucid enough to shoot or stab, not strung out like a noodle you fucking moron!" shouted the leader, now known as Trix.

It wasn't just a single pair of eyes watching the small gang carefully; but an entire colony of mice with beady red eyes and black fur which hid amid the bushes, the tree tops the hollows in logs and the thick, lush greenery. These creatures of the dark were familiars of Noss, who kept her informed of their coming arrival long before they stumbled into the grove in which she was collecting her herbs. There were also other creatures, like keropin and the like, but they were busy tending to their own things.



Noss could easily just as smell their sweat, blood and the chemicals they had poisoned their bodies with. Though many of her kin were apt to murder humans at first sight, and ghouls were more than likely to quench their thirst at the sight of blood in spite of how poisoned it was, she liked to approach things civilly as possible if not for her own, continued safety but for the safety of those who lived beyond her home. She decided to cover her face with a bandanna, looking almost as much a bandit as they did, but for her it was to not show off her rather... unique look so readily. She also bandaged her hands, making them look swollen rather than enlarged, but she couldn't do much about the talon like fingernails... ah well. At least I look less like a hagraven to this lot... should they encounter me, I'll do my best to be civil even though they're just as pure evil as other beings in this forest... She thought, but wasn't going to simply let the four roll her over either. Should she find them... distasteful, she'll show them Nosferatuan Negotiation Techniques up close and personal!

---

Soon, she could hear them in the treeline, and Noss could feel the pair who had been sent to look for things to build a fire walking her direction. She was covered at this point, long black hair still fell past her taut back but her face and hands were now covered. She only gave a sideways glance at the approaching pair, her 6' tall body hunkered down in the lush herbal growth. She blinked at them, and if she was lucky... well, if they were lucky to be more accurate, they'd not see her in their current worn out state. They looked like they'd seen a third of the Amaine's horrors alongside those of Man's. She pitied them, to some regard, but not entirely as she was still a Vampire and higher up on the totem pole all things considering.

Once the other two came back, carrying a small bunch of rocks and handfulls of twigs and deadwood, they arranged the stones into a small ring, and lit the fire within it. Once the fire was set, they gathered around the fire as dusk began to settle. "Fucking hell Jack..." Trix said again, before she eyed the others. "What have we got left?" she asked them. The larger male took off his duffle bag and rummaged through it's contents, the others did the same when he looked forlorn. "We got enough food and water for a few days. but we got maybe two boxes of ammo left for our guns, maybe 4 grenades... not enough for another major encounter with anything big and nasty in here... not after that last one got Riggs. Havn't had much in the way of decent equipment and supplies since Quartermaster Theo got taken by that Apophis naga we saw that first day in this fucking hellhole. He had the only code and keys to the armory strongbox we had."

The others snorted at that, before the smaller female spoke up. "Ye, that was stupid. Leader Gat should have given a few more copies of the keys and codes a few others in command. Now we're all fucked."

No confrontation was had as the strung out pair passed her by without notice. She observed them from far better coverage soon after, stalking each closely before vanishing into a puff of mist when they got too squirrelly. They weren't her concern... at least, not on the surface. They could be trouble though... especially if the mortal organizations get involved. They don't appear to be of Jeremiah Quicksilver (a gangster in the mid 2200s) caliber of criminal but even so... She thought, and decided to keep watch of the four.

---

Random Mobs wrote:Once the other two came back, carrying a small bunch of rocks and handfulls of twigs and deadwood, they arranged the stones into a small ring, and lit the fire within it. Once the fire was set, they gathered around the fire as dusk began to settle. "Fucking hell Jack..." Trix said again, before she eyed the others. "What have we got left?" she asked them. The larger male took off his duffle bag and rummaged through it's contents, the others did the same when he looked forlorn. "We got enough food and water for a few days. but we got maybe two boxes of ammo left for our guns, maybe 4 grenades... not enough for another major encounter with anything big and nasty in here... not after that last one got Riggs. Havn't had much in the way of decent equipment and supplies since Quartermaster Theo got taken by that Apophis naga we saw that first day in this fucking hellhole. He had the only code and keys to the armory strongbox we had."

The others snorted at that, before the smaller female spoke up. "Ye, that was stupid. Leader Gat should have given a few more copies of the keys and codes a few others in command. Now we're all fucked."

The four talked about other humans, a stash of equipment they were locked out of, and an Apophi which caught her interest most of all. Those beast-women aren't native of this forest save those abandoned from Sultan Abdel Adham's failed conquest nearly four centuries ago... and they have been quiet for the last two centuries... this must be a new arrival? I did hear rumors of the former Black Emperor's revival, but such notions are still pretty absurd considering how he died... She thought, folding her arms under her breasts as she continued to listen in. Considering it was now dusk, she didn't have to worry too much about her appearance blowing her cover, but she decided to keep her bandages and mask on as she drew closer to the campfire. I could probably get more information from them first hand, trading medical supplies for their knowledge.. A hungry Apophi is just as dangerous to these woods as these people... but I could probably negotiate a fair trade and point them the way out if they are receptive of my invitation to parlay. She thought, before making sure her bandana around her mouth and nose were tight. She paused, noting a rabbit nearby and with a swift flick of her hand she grabbed and snapped its neck before it could scream. Even so, the crunch was like a snap of a twig, so she quickly tossed the rabbit near the flickering flames before she'd approach their camp.

The quadrella of thieves and bandits jumped back in pure instinct at the rough plat of the small rabbit against the log Jack was using as a seat. The cracked out man screeched repeatedly as this broke his nerves, considering the horrors he had witnessed all this week alone within the forest. He reflexively whipped out his sawed off double barrelled shotgun, and simultaneously pulled both triggers, throwing a double blast of 12 gauge buckshot into the woods, doing nothing but splinter wood, and shredding and rustling leaves.

"JACK!" Trix whispered harshly out. "You MORON! You just gave away our posit... ion?" Trix's rant slowed down and stalled as she realized that the dead rabbit had to come from somewhere. At her urging, they all raised their various firearms.

"Who, Who goes there? Come out!" she called out.

Random Mobs wrote:The quadrella of thieves and bandits jumped back in pure instinct at the rough plat of the small rabbit against the log Jack was using as a seat. The cracked out man screeched repeatedly as this broke his nerves, considering the horrors he had witnessed all this week alone within the forest. He reflexively whipped out his sawed off double barrelled shotgun, and simultaneously pulled both triggers, throwing a double blast of 12 gauge buckshot into the woods, doing nothing but splinter wood, and shredding and rustling leaves.

"JACK!" Trix whispered harshly out. "You MORON! You just gave away our posit... ion?" Trix's rant slowed down and stalled as she realized that the dead rabbit had to come from somewhere. At her urging, they all raised their various firearms.

"Who, Who goes there? Come out!" she called out.

The explosive sound of the weapon was something Noss had anticipated, but as long as the barrels weren't consecrated nor the shells within, nor the shells for that matter not silver, she would have been fine regardless if the shot shell had actually managed to hit her.

"PeAcE...I... coMe... iN...P...eace.." started Noss, in a small and somewhat distorted voice, the result of Carmilla's curse on her for doing her job back in the day. The sad truth of the fate of House Carmilla's Speaker was she was now reduced to a hermit who couldn't speak normal anymore. "Noss... presents Hare... travelers... look hurt. Look... Hungry." She continued, from the other side of the campfire, before she approached at its edge. The flickering orange glow kept much of her more monstrous features well hidden along with her disguise of bandage wraps and a bandanna around her face. She also had a hood up over her head, made from the misty blackness which covered her body taut like a dress.



"I... am Noss... a hermit. I have herbs... to... heal wound. Heal... blood. Noss... can help lost and... weary souls..." She offered. "Hare... was peace... offer...ing..." She managed to add, straining to speak. It had been a long time since she spoke so openly with someone other than a passing hello. Probably since Yukihime was spending time at her home, or when she was teaching Reiri the basics of Vampire abilities and magic... "Noss...not threat." She added, speaking more simply as it was easier and quicker given the curse.

The three who were not under the influence remained alert and wary, eyes narrowed, but willing to talk, at the very least until they got to the bottom of this. But Jack, who's vision and mental capacity were heavily impacted by the drug cocktail, was frightened beyond all measure. His eyes did not perceive the strange woman normally, but instead he saw her as the vampiric monster she tried to hide, tho neither knew the other was aware of this.

"D... DEMON!!" he squeaked out, his finger kept pulling the triggers on his gun to nothing hut empty clicks. "MONSTER!"

That was all Trix could stand. "Shut the fuck up damn you strung out asshole!" she said, slapping the clearly addled man across the face. "She's probably stuck in these woods like us." she turned toward Noss, "Sorry, nervous group we are here. Been losing people left and right over the past four days. 30 of our group are missing or dead."

Random Mobs wrote:The three who were not under the influence remained alert and wary, eyes narrowed, but willing to talk, at the very least until they got to the bottom of this. But Jack, who's vision and mental capacity were heavily impacted by the drug cocktail, was frightened beyond all measure. His eyes did not perceive the strange woman normally, but instead he saw her as the vampiric monster she tried to hide, tho neither knew the other was aware of this.

"D... DEMON!!" he squeaked out, his finger kept pulling the triggers on his gun to nothing hut empty clicks. "MONSTER!"

That was all Trix could stand. "Shut the fuck up damn you strung out asshole!" she said, slapping the clearly addled man across the face. "She's probably stuck in these woods like us." she turned toward Noss, "Sorry, nervous group we are here. Been losing people left and right over the past four days. 30 of our group are missing or dead."

They could not see Noss frown under the mask, for it was still up, but her black irises fell upon 'Jack' and blinked. Perceptive are those who try to commune with Gods via poisonous substances... She looked back to their leader, 'Trix'. "I... Live. Here. For Quiet. Hah hah..." she chuckled, before bowing head. "Sorry, been... long time. Since. Last conversation." She sighed. "Lost many. People? Noss... cannot help... the dead. Noss will, help... you four. Show easy path... still dangerous though. Will also help... four with injuries... if needed." She continued. She took a step closer to the group, and noted of the bunch Trix seemed like the least diseased or chem heavy user which could explain why she was perhaps the prettiest of the two women present. "The Creatures of... Amaine... are not well. Foreign monsters... creatures... arriving. Almost. DaiLy..." she coughed into her large hand. "Be thankful... Amaine Head Hunters... extinct. They would... be drawn. By flame of campfire." She explained. As it was her speech patterns and gait would have been unnerving if not a touch annoying otherwise, and maybe still was but she wasn't good at charades.

Noss Fortaeu wrote:They could not see Noss frown under the mask, for it was still up, but her black irises fell upon 'Jack' and blinked. Perceptive are those who try to commune with Gods via poisonous substances... She looked back to their leader, 'Trix'. "I... Live. Here. For Quiet. Hah hah..." she chuckled, before bowing head. "Sorry, been... long time. Since. Last conversation." She sighed. "Lost many. People? Noss... cannot help... the dead. Noss will, help... you four. Show easy path... still dangerous though. Will also help... four with injuries... if needed." She continued. She took a step closer to the group, and noted of the bunch Trix seemed like the least diseased or chem heavy user which could explain why she was perhaps the prettiest of the two women present. "The Creatures of... Amaine... are not well. Foreign monsters... creatures... arriving. Almost. DaiLy..." she coughed into her large hand. "Be thankful... Amaine Head Hunters... extinct. They would... be drawn. By flame of campfire." She explained. As it was her speech patterns and gait would have been unnerving if not a touch annoying otherwise, and maybe still was but she wasn't good at charades.  

"You live here?" said the smaller woman for a moment. "With all these new monsters roaming in here? I don't envy you your choice of residence." The three lucid ones slowly lowered their weapons.

"Who are they? What are they? Where did they come from? I've never even imagined anything like these monstrosities. And I've heard of the monsters at Shi No Shima... These things are worse. Way worse... I was there, during the siege of Ithteca... They nearly destroyed it..." Trix said, the fear returned. A helpless fear. "Then, there's Risa... Just before we left on that job, I had heard of even more horrific abominations starting to emerge out of that cursed Galideno Desert, and dark storms emerging from that... damn mountain... Damn... feels like the end of the world all over again." she said, scratching the back of her neck, before swiping Jack's whisky, taking a small swig before grimacing.

"Shit that stuff is like damn gasoline... The Hell Jack?" she groused.

"Noss lived here.... for years. Noss knows way of forest... knows what safe. What... not." She says to them, just as they brought up the alien monsters and demons. "Noss... knows not the answer to such question. Noss also notice, Apophi in area. Sobekians. Creatures who... do not dwell in Amaine, but from far away... Minktail. Odd. Desert and Jungle creatures... make their way to Old Asrond? Nothing but death... and ruin... there." She questioned as she hunkered down near the fire, collecting the hare to prepare it for them, as they were too strung out to do so otherwise. "Did... Apophi, attack? Sobekian? You four? Sorry. To. Bring up. Bad memories. Noss. Need to know. What may. Be out there... yet."

Noss Fortaeu wrote:"Noss lived here.... for years. Noss knows way of forest... knows what safe. What... not." She says to them, just as they brought up the alien monsters and demons. "Noss... knows not the answer to such question. Noss also notice, Apophi in area. Sobekians. Creatures who... do not dwell in Amaine, but from far away... Minktail. Odd. Desert and Jungle creatures... make their way to Old Asrond? Nothing but death... and ruin... there." She questioned as she hunkered down near the fire, collecting the hare to prepare it for them, as they were too strung out to do so otherwise. "Did... Apophi, attack? Sobekian? You four? Sorry. To. Bring up. Bad memories. Noss. Need to know. What may. Be out there... yet."

Trix again scratched the back of her neck, nervously it seemed, or a stress habit. Then she pulled out a hand rolled cigarette and lit it with a chrome steel flip lighter and took a deep inhale. Tobacco and Old Toby Pipe Weed smoke exhaled from her nostrils. The large man was busy setting up a spit and cooking pot, while the smaller woman was busy sharpening her knife to skin the hare, and gathered some salts and spices. At the very least this would save them one meal from their supplies for another day. Trix looked at the stranger for a moment longer before answering. "I think just about everything predatory had a pick at us as soon as we crossed the tree line from the Badlands. The Apophis bitch was just the first thing. Took one of our scouts in  a few minutes before slithering away through the branches of the trees like a damn rocket with his legs hanging out of her mouth. We started with around 35, now it's just us four, I think. Havn't seen any of the others. Theo was the last one we lost, about three hours ago. Sobekians, Keropin, those new monsters... Predatory plants, mutated natural fauna... A lotta different beasties." Trix answered. She took another drag of her cigarette, before puffing out the inhaled smoke with a single great huff.

"Asrond... A cursed necropolis of the old world. Tell me, if you've been inside that city, did you see a gigantic, strange looking tower in there that wasn't there before? When I was in Ithteca, I had overheard things, especially after the siege. Some of us managed to eavesdrop on ADN patrols mentioning that there was a strange tower populated by monsters down in the Guardian's Gorge. A few days after the siege, it gets wiped out by a massive beam of light and energy that managed to turn the gorge into a valley of glass, one that pointed nearly horizontally, like a gunbarrel, towards that strange circular object in space beyond the moon. They mentioned that two more of those towers were spotted. One in the Gazatine ruins, the other in Asrond. And all three of the towers were drawing nasty monsters and wildlife to them, if they wern't being drawn to Mount Riza." Trix said.

[from here]

Lei Mei turned up in the human realm around dusk, when the skies began to darken and the two moons began to gather in the skies. She ambled about mostly, just letting it sink in. I only have seven days at the most to live... and I need to kill this Leland McKelly and let him know his wife's fate was no mere accident but designed... how much more cryptic can the Shogun be? She had pondered. But... alas, she had no choice but to go through with her Lord's plans now.

---

After some hours of travelling, the crimson eyed beauty picked up the scent of boiled and grilled food as well as the campfire. She could easily see the figures in the darkness and smirked. She was getting a little hungry herself... given she only had but a week to live, it made anyone she ran into fair game as far as she was concerned!

"Hello~" She called out to the group of bandits. A tall, thin woman with ice blue hair that fell to her knees with pale as snow skin and big and red Beijionese shaped eyes:



"Mind if I join your campfire? I've been milling about these woods four hours now... its so cold and lonely out there. I'm just glad I happened across someone civilized..." She sighed with pout as she approached them, the campfire showing off her almost otherworldly figure:



The silver and azure moons illuminated her beauty from above, while the campfire lit up her curves and beauty at eye level. She was like a celestial maiden... and she was in all actuality. Her race descended from the moon, and were a kind of alien yokai but, to these mortals she looked human. Pretty as a princess, but human... though her red eyes fell to the veiled dark one almost instantly. "...I see, you are all welcome to a vampire in your group so one who does not have fangs should be just as welcome among you, no?" she poised, while also exposing Noss!

Lei Mei wrote:[from here]

Lei Mei turned up in the human realm around dusk, when the skies began to darken and the two moons began to gather in the skies. She ambled about mostly, just letting it sink in. I only have seven days at the most to live... and I need to kill this Leland McKelly and let him know his wife's fate was no mere accident but designed... how much more cryptic can the Shogun be? She had pondered. But... alas, she had no choice but to go through with her Lord's plans now.

---

After some hours of travelling, the crimson eyed beauty picked up the scent of boiled and grilled food as well as the campfire. She could easily see the figures in the darkness and smirked. She was getting a little hungry herself... given she only had but a week to live, it made anyone she ran into fair game as far as she was concerned!

"Hello~" She called out to the group of bandits. A tall, thin woman with ice blue hair that fell to her knees with pale as snow skin and big and red Beijionese shaped eyes:



"Mind if I join your campfire? I've been milling about these woods four hours now... its so cold and lonely out there. I'm just glad I happened across someone civilized..." She sighed with pout as she approached them, the campfire showing off her almost otherworldly figure:



The silver and azure moons illuminated her beauty from above, while the campfire lit up her curves and beauty at eye level. She was like a celestial maiden... and she was in all actuality. Her race descended from the moon, and were a kind of alien yokai but, to these mortals she looked human. Pretty as a princess, but human... though her red eyes fell to the veiled dark one almost instantly. "...I see, you are all welcome to a vampire in your group so one who does not have fangs should be just as welcome among you, no?" she poised, while also exposing Noss!

The four remaining bandits glanced nervously at the new arrival, then at Noss before Trix sighed and waived Lei Mei over. "As long as neither of you are trying to murder or eat us, as far as I'm concerned, that's better than what most others in this place have offered. Have a seat."

Trix was uncharacteristically nonchalant about this very strange set of circumstances - especially in the eyes of her remaining gang, who on better days would be far more hostile and isolationist in their demeanor, being outlaws and all. But, Trix's logic was - if they ain't hear to kill and/or eat them, then at the very least, having more numbers in the group means that they were more likely to survive this. Even better, their new camfire mates, being supernatural beings, might provide them with a fighting edge against the monsters in this place, who overmatched the hapless mortal bandits considerably. Especially these new Demons from that damned tower.

"Why thank you~" Lei Mei hummed before strolling up between a pair of rather nervous bandits and finding her seat between them. She had a very unearthly aura to her, and she smelled nice and clean. She didn't have any obvious weapons on her either. She held out her hands to the fire and sighed. "Feels nice to cozy up to the flame~" She hummed.



"I'm Lei Mei..." She offered to the bandits. "I offer you my thanks for being open minded. Not many would be in these woods." She extended, before producing a small platter of Beijionese cuisine like sushi, onigiri and sashimi from seemingly no where. "I myself am not human as you guessed. Again, I won't harm you nor intend to harm any of you humans and Lady Vampire. Consider my conjuration abilities as thanks for not making me resort to violence." She mused. Given their demeanor she had a change of heart about them... for now. Should they change their hearts she'd snuff them out quicker than they could say 'Oni'.

"Forgive my running lips, but I'm afraid I don't long for this world much longer and every second is precious to me. Would you and your fine group of ruffians, Ms. Trix, ever happen across this man before in your travels?" She mused before conjuring an image of a handsome man:



"Anything you know or may know about him if he is at all familiar to you and your gang would be appreciated and worth the sum of our combined weight in gold. Yours, mine, hers, his..." She explained. "Gold I can provide as soon as your free from these wretched woods." She added, knowing that carrying such a sum would do more hindrance then aid to these fleeing bandits.

Noss felt her spine chill as the Celestial Maiden Yokai appeared and revealed Noss' true identity to the bandits. She frowned behind her hood, and slowly removed it now that she was found out. "Noss. Sorry... for... hiding truth. Noss... face... scares easy. Noss won't attack. Noss. Promise." She cooed, before revealing her nervous self:

Lei Mei wrote:"Why thank you~" Lei Mei hummed before strolling up between a pair of rather nervous bandits and finding her seat between them. She had a very unearthly aura to her, and she smelled nice and clean. She didn't have any obvious weapons on her either. She held out her hands to the fire and sighed. "Feels nice to cozy up to the flame~" She hummed.



"I'm Lei Mei..." She offered to the bandits. "I offer you my thanks for being open minded. Not many would be in these woods." She extended, before producing a small platter of Beijionese cuisine like sushi, onigiri and sashimi from seemingly no where. "I myself am not human as you guessed. Again, I won't harm you nor intend to harm any of you humans and Lady Vampire. Consider my conjuration abilities as thanks for not making me resort to violence." She mused. Given their demeanor she had a change of heart about them... for now. Should they change their hearts she'd snuff them out quicker than they could say 'Oni'.

"Forgive my running lips, but I'm afraid I don't long for this world much longer and every second is precious to me. Would you and your fine group of ruffians, Ms. Trix, ever happen across this man before in your travels?" She mused before conjuring an image of a handsome man:



"Anything you know or may know about him if he is at all familiar to you and your gang would be appreciated and worth the sum of our combined weight in gold. Yours, mine, hers, his..." She explained. "Gold I can provide as soon as your free from these wretched woods." She added, knowing that carrying such a sum would do more hindrance then aid to these fleeing bandits.

Noss watched the reaction of the bandits as Lei Mei slipped her way in without a care. She observed her carefully... in case the Maiden was being mistrustful. When she produced the image of the human man, she began to fidget.



"Noss... knows him not... but wouldn't mind... he looks. Handsome. For. Human." She answered, somewhat bashfully.

Lei Mei wrote:"Why thank you~" Lei Mei hummed before strolling up between a pair of rather nervous bandits and finding her seat between them. She had a very unearthly aura to her, and she smelled nice and clean. She didn't have any obvious weapons on her either. She held out her hands to the fire and sighed. "Feels nice to cozy up to the flame~" She hummed.



"I'm Lei Mei..." She offered to the bandits. "I offer you my thanks for being open minded. Not many would be in these woods." She extended, before producing a small platter of Beijionese cuisine like sushi, onigiri and sashimi from seemingly no where. "I myself am not human as you guessed. Again, I won't harm you nor intend to harm any of you humans and Lady Vampire. Consider my conjuration abilities as thanks for not making me resort to violence." She mused. Given their demeanor she had a change of heart about them... for now. Should they change their hearts she'd snuff them out quicker than they could say 'Oni'.

"Forgive my running lips, but I'm afraid I don't long for this world much longer and every second is precious to me. Would you and your fine group of ruffians, Ms. Trix, ever happen across this man before in your travels?" She mused before conjuring an image of a handsome man:



"Anything you know or may know about him if he is at all familiar to you and your gang would be appreciated and worth the sum of our combined weight in gold. Yours, mine, hers, his..." She explained. "Gold I can provide as soon as your free from these wretched woods." She added, knowing that carrying such a sum would do more hindrance then aid to these fleeing bandits.

"Well, given we are being picked off one by one, wounded, stranded and two days from any help in this forsaken forest, we wouldn't really be in a position to be hostile anyways, Li-Mei. I'm Trix, and I am the leader of whats left of this group" Trix explained. Then she listened to Li Mei make her offer. And while her eyebrow quirked at the mention of gold, her heart sank somewhat. "I don't recognize the face, but that getup of his, he seems like a Gunslinger of sorts, and not a newbie either. His eyes... He's a veteran." Trix said.

Noss Fortaeu wrote:Noss felt her spine chill as the Celestial Maiden Yokai appeared and revealed Noss' true identity to the bandits. She frowned behind her hood, and slowly removed it now that she was found out. "Noss. Sorry... for... hiding truth. Noss... face... scares easy. Noss won't attack. Noss. Promise." She cooed, before revealing her nervous self:



Noss watched the reaction of the bandits as Lei Mei slipped her way in without a care. She observed her carefully... in case the Maiden was being mistrustful. When she produced the image of the human man, she began to fidget.



"Noss... knows him not... but wouldn't mind... he looks. Handsome. For. Human." She answered, somewhat bashfully.

Trix scoffed a little and smirked as she blew out a plume of cigarette smoke from her nose. "Attractive maybe, but he's also dangerous."

"Yes, quite easy on the eyes for a mortal... but deadly eh?" She hummed, before turning to the others with Trix. "If anything about him looks familiar anything you could tell me about this supposed 'Gunslinger' it could be beneficial to me. Even the smallest details or otherwise useless material about this man could prove useful to me." She cooed, showing off the image once more to them all. "If he is a Gunslinger... maybe he arrested you before? One of your friends or family? Anything. Any information at all..." She persisted.

Lei Mei wrote:"Yes, quite easy on the eyes for a mortal... but deadly eh?" She hummed, before turning to the others with Trix. "If anything about him looks familiar anything you could tell me about this supposed 'Gunslinger' it could be beneficial to me. Even the smallest details or otherwise useless material about this man could prove useful to me." She cooed, showing off the image once more to them all. "If he is a Gunslinger... maybe he arrested you before? One of your friends or family? Anything. Any information at all..." She persisted.

Trix took in a drag from her pipe once again as she eyed Lei Mei through the smoke. "Nobody I'd hire or allow to join my group would ever be so careless. Gunslingers arn't known for their mercy. We don't know about any particular individual Gunslinger, but... everyone knows their general reputation." Trix began.

"Generally speaking, the Gunslingers are an elite military force. They are a volunteer special forces renowned as much for their expert reconnaissance capabilities as their bravery and combat prowess. Their primary purpose is dealing with threats regular police and military forces like the ADN cannot handle, as well as keeping the peace between nations, scouting out threats and other special assignments. Their superior training, weaponry and assortment of both pre-War and post-War technology allows them to tip any battles favor towards whomever they deem to be correct, even when a situation may see them outnumbered and outgunned. They technically generally specialize in the use of ballistic weapons, but their extreme levels of training and experience means they are well versed in a wide variety of weapons and tactics. Part police officer, part special forces soldier, and part agent." Trix finished her summary, and her two male counterparts nodded, even as the larger one began cutting off slices of meat from the spit, and putting them onto skewers and onto a plate. "Tenacious, resourceful, and very capable in a fight" the smaller one added. "Very few escape their pursuit alive, especially when they come in force."

Random Mobs wrote:

Lei Mei wrote:"Yes, quite easy on the eyes for a mortal... but deadly eh?" She hummed, before turning to the others with Trix. "If anything about him looks familiar anything you could tell me about this supposed 'Gunslinger' it could be beneficial to me. Even the smallest details or otherwise useless material about this man could prove useful to me." She cooed, showing off the image once more to them all. "If he is a Gunslinger... maybe he arrested you before? One of your friends or family? Anything. Any information at all..." She persisted.

Trix took in a drag from her pipe once again as she eyed Lei Mei through the smoke. "Nobody I'd hire or allow to join my group would ever be so careless. Gunslingers arn't known for their mercy. We don't know about any particular individual Gunslinger, but... everyone knows their general reputation." Trix began.

"Generally speaking, the Gunslingers are an elite military force. They are a volunteer special forces renowned as much for their expert reconnaissance capabilities as their bravery and combat prowess. Their primary purpose is dealing with threats regular police and military forces like the ADN cannot handle, as well as keeping the peace between nations, scouting out threats and other special assignments. Their superior training, weaponry and assortment of both pre-War and post-War technology allows them to tip any battles favor towards whomever they deem to be correct, even when a situation may see them outnumbered and outgunned. They technically generally specialize in the use of ballistic weapons, but their extreme levels of training and experience means they are well versed in a wide variety of weapons and tactics. Part police officer, part special forces soldier, and part agent." Trix finished her summary, and her two male counterparts nodded, even as the larger one began cutting off slices of meat from the spit, and putting them onto skewers and onto a plate. "Tenacious, resourceful, and very capable in a fight" the smaller one added. "Very few escape their pursuit alive, especially when they come in force."

"Gun...sling...ers.... formid..able. Stand ins. For... military... when none. Present." Noss said slowly so she would not sound beastly due to her curse. "Academy. For. Pack-Men... Not. Far. Danton. Grey Mountain. Other. Further. North. Farthest. North. Izh...Izh..." she stammered before she croaked out like a demon: "IzHEVesK!"



The sound caused the others to jump, even Trix to glare her direction as Noss covered her mouth, flustered. "Noss. Sorry. Happens. When. Noss. Speak. Quick." She says with a frown upon removing her freakish hands from her face. "As. FoR PaCk-MaN... Noss. Knows. Not. Other than... handsome. Hehehe~" She giggled in the last bit.

Noss Fortaeu wrote:"Gun...sling...ers.... formid..able. Stand ins. For... military... when none. Present." Noss said slowly so she would not sound beastly due to her curse. "Academy. For. Pack-Men... Not. Far. Danton. Grey Mountain. Other. Further. North. Farthest. North. Izh...Izh..." she stammered before she croaked out like a demon: "IzHEVesK!"



The sound caused the others to jump, even Trix to glare her direction as Noss covered her mouth, flustered. "Noss. Sorry. Happens. When. Noss. Speak. Quick." She says with a frown upon removing her freakish hands from her face. "As. FoR PaCk-MaN... Noss. Knows. Not. Other than... handsome. Hehehe~" She giggled in the last bit.

Trix quirked an eyebrow again at Noss, before simply waiving it off with "Gesundheit", like Noss had sneezed. "Izhevesk.... The frozen north, or to some of the locals, 'That icy white Hell'. Never been there, but to hear the locals tell it, it's like travelling in the desert, but instead of heat and sand, it's blizzard cold, and ice and snow all year round. And unlike a desert, it gets even colder at night. No heat to be found unless you bring it with you."

The larger man finishes carving up and preparing the meat skewers before bringing the tray around to the guests. When he reaches Lei Mei and offers her one of the skewers that had various cooked meats such as beef and chicken, he asks her. "So, what's your interest in this Gunslinger anyway?"

The celestial maiden raised a brow at the forced guttural response from Noss, and the information provided by the band of misfits overall. "Ah yes, I am quite aware of the Gunslingers from the information I was given, but never crossed one personally. I appreciate the info, it tells me more than you may think about this man." She cooed, before grasping one of the meat skewers. She nodded in thanks, before looking into the crackling fire. "I would otherwise decline to talk such, but given my limited lifespan and since you were forthcoming I won't keep it to myself. There is still much I cannot say, but this much I will divulge:" She began, and glanced up at the woman. "His name is Leland McKelly... and I was tasked to slay him."

A cool wind blew through the camp that could have been reminiscent of the winds of the Far North. Given what they told her about the Gunslingers, she understood why her Lord had said she'd be dead within the week's end should she take on this mission. If she was not slain by McKelly's hand, his order would surely send someone to hunt her down if not people close to him. And being a veteran Gunslinger or 'pack-man' as Noss kept referring to them which she supposed was some form of slang, there was more weight to the possibility the Order would seek revenge for a fallen comrade if she even survived the battle. Human or not, these Gunslingers in general seemed formidable enough to be a single-man army if they could police a city or village of humans by themselves from Gods knew what.

Lei Mei wrote:The celestial maiden raised a brow at the forced guttural response from Noss, and the information provided by the band of misfits overall. "Ah yes, I am quite aware of the Gunslingers from the information I was given, but never crossed one personally. I appreciate the info, it tells me more than you may think about this man." She cooed, before grasping one of the meat skewers. She nodded in thanks, before looking into the crackling fire. "I would otherwise decline to talk such, but given my limited lifespan and since you were forthcoming I won't keep it to myself. There is still much I cannot say, but this much I will divulge:" She began, and glanced up at the woman. "His name is Leland McKelly... and I was tasked to slay him."

A cool wind blew through the camp that could have been reminiscent of the winds of the Far North. Given what they told her about the Gunslingers, she understood why her Lord had said she'd be dead within the week's end should she take on this mission. If she was not slain by McKelly's hand, his order would surely send someone to hunt her down if not people close to him. And being a veteran Gunslinger or 'pack-man' as Noss kept referring to them which she supposed was some form of slang, there was more weight to the possibility the Order would seek revenge for a fallen comrade if she even survived the battle. Human or not, these Gunslingers in general seemed formidable enough to be a single-man army if they could police a city or village of humans by themselves from Gods knew what.

Trix's eyebrows both raised at that, even as the larger man moved over to Noss and offered her a skewer, all three of the bandits looked a little worried for Lei Mei. "You wanna off a Gunslinger? Well... I mean it aint not our business as to why you or the one who pays you wants to off a Gunslinger, but I will say this to ya, you challenge a gunslinger, you best be prepared for the fight of your life. And, even if you do manage to kill him, the Gunslinger Association will keep coming, for you, and your bosses. They are persistent, as I said, relentless, and take no prisoners. I hear tell many of their members were partly responsible for securing victory in the last great war against Sephiroth."

The smaller man mumbled as he smoked his pipe, looking down "Whole world nearly popped because of that fucking rogue War God. lost my whole family in that war..."

Trix looked sympathetically to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "We all lost a lotta loved ones in those years..." she said, then turned her gaze back to Lei Mei. "Still, if you're willing to die for your cause... You might find a better cause to die for than to kill a lone Gunslinger..."

Noss took a skewer from her hosts with glee. "Thank... you." She smiled, and silently chomped away as Lei Mei replied:

Lei Mei wrote:The celestial maiden raised a brow at the forced guttural response from Noss, and the information provided by the band of misfits overall. "Ah yes, I am quite aware of the Gunslingers from the information I was given, but never crossed one personally. I appreciate the info, it tells me more than you may think about this man." She cooed, before grasping one of the meat skewers. She nodded in thanks, before looking into the crackling fire. "I would otherwise decline to talk such, but given my limited lifespan and since you were forthcoming I won't keep it to myself. There is still much I cannot say, but this much I will divulge:" She began, and glanced up at the woman. "His name is Leland McKelly... and I was tasked to slay him."

At this revelation, Noss nearly choked on the wooden skewer!



Alarmed, the vampire coughed and blinked her large eyes repeatedly before turning her attention to the Celestial Maiden: "K-KilL?!"

The voice sounded hollow and unearthly again, and to this realization Noss calmed herself down and cleared her throat again. "Sorry..." she repeated.

Random Mobs wrote:Trix's eyebrows both raised at that, even as the larger man moved over to Noss and offered her a skewer, all three of the bandits looked a little worried for Lei Mei. "You wanna off a Gunslinger? Well... I mean it aint not our business as to why you or the one who pays you wants to off a Gunslinger, but I will say this to ya, you challenge a gunslinger, you best be prepared for the fight of your life. And, even if you do manage to kill him, the Gunslinger Association will keep coming, for you, and your bosses. They are persistent, as I said, relentless, and take no prisoners. I hear tell many of their members were partly responsible for securing victory in the last great war against Sephiroth."

The smaller man mumbled as he smoked his pipe, looking down "Whole world nearly popped because of that fucking rogue War God. lost my whole family in that war..."

Trix looked sympathetically to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "We all lost a lotta loved ones in those years..." she said, then turned her gaze back to Lei Mei. "Still, if you're willing to die for your cause... You might find a better cause to die for than to kill a lone Gunslinger..."

She didn't know what sort of business Lei Mei had with this man, this handsome Pack-Man named Leland McKelly... but from the projection and the merit of his job along with the look of his eyes, Noss could see this human was a good man, and was one of the reasons why she was instantly fond of his appearance. His eyes didn't look malicious, of one who got drunk off the power he had over others like so many others she'd seen in her long lifetime. There was always a little darkness in everyone, but she saw a lot of positive from this one in particular.



"What... others say... true. Pack-Men... avenge. Their own." She began. "Seems like... waste. Of life. FOr boTh. You ANd HiM. If not. Long for this... world. Why. Risk?" She persisted. She listened to the others talking of the Sephiroth Wars, of the FINAL RAID from some years back. She shook her head. "War God... was not Rogue. Corrupted. From. Evil. Evil that split into. Shadows. One Clown. One Enigma. Others. Unknown. Ancient. Evils. Vampires were. Not Friends either." She tried to explain and correct. "There was... also. Meddling. From. The First. Not Frey'd. Older. There are. Not. Twelve War Gods. Thirteen and half. TechnicALLy. The First. Corrupt too. By. Shadows. Old. Shadows." She continued, before looking into the flames. "First. Sleeps. Thanks to. Valentine family. Sacrifice. Thanks to conNECtion tO DESpaR LegENd." sighed Noss.



"...Noss. Remain. Quiet."

She noted the concern for what it was worth, and half smiled. "As I said, it was foretold by accepting this mission my fate is sealed. If I fail to complete my directive, I may yet live... but others will die. If one life is all it took to save millions, then its a sacrifice worth making I'd say." She replied, before taking a bite.

"Not bad..." She smiled.

Lei Mei then glanced up at Noss' remark and raised a brow. "He's somewhere in these woods. I can sense that much. Killing him isn't my priority, rather what I must say to him before I kill him. I assume by such logic Leland's death is not actually a requirement for my mission, but whatever I say will cause me to engage him in combat. Even so, killing him helps my case as well. He's been a nuisance to demons and monsters of all kinds of late. Culling us. Like disease carrying insects..." She sighed, leaning her head on her knees.