Satoshi bowed politely to the shopowner before the pair set out.
He later nodded to Kichiro
"I... can't say I exactly understand, but I can empathize as best I can. And do what I can to help. We'll figure things out, I'm sure of it. There's sure to be tonic or treatment or just a powerful priestess somewhere who can do the job, we just need to find it." Kichiro did his best to sound certain and reassuring, even while silently afraid it would take too long...
[b]"And... now that we've got a map, we should probably look at it."
Satoshi then did so, to discern what the nearby towns were, and how to get to them.
As Satoshi unrolls the map to look at it, determining their approximate position was not that difficult, as Miumi was on the map, marked with a fine brush. A moment of interpreting the symbols and it appeared that there were a couple of towns that could be reached within a day or so. All of them were south to varying degrees.
Hihibo was to the southeast, on a path that would take them eventually to the east of the Mountains, towards Sakakabe and beyond. Shikawa was the one that was directly south of where they were and seemed the closest by the barest of margins, while Taiki was southwest.
The sounds of the chilly wind blowing across the grass was soothing, as the two of you were well used to the weather in the forest. Green, cold, and damp were the scents that Kichiro got, all blowing from the west.
Which way to go?
"Sakakabe is where we want to go," Kichiro states, pointing to the city on the map, then tracing back towards Miumi. "Looks like... maybe we should head this way? Towards Hihibo?"
His finger wavers between some of the other towns. "Let me think... was there any reason to prefer one of these over the others...?"
He inhales the scents of grassland and distant forest deeply, thinking he might never see or smell his former home again. Not unless they could truly find a solution to... all this.
What Kichiro has picked up from travelers and traders, the closer that you got to the mountains the more earth- and metal- derived objects could be obtained at cheaper prices, whereas Shikawa was a more traveled route, and one could obtain more varied goods. Taiki was where oceanside products could start to be obtained, since it was closer to the sea and the unique products produced by the peninsula. Likewise, travel difficulty was going to increase towards Hihibo due to the hills, and Shikawa would be smoother. Taiki would not change all that much from what they were seeing now.
"It'll be a bit harder going towards Hihibo, but I think it's our best route. Besides, it'd be a change of scenery, right?" He flashes his brother a half-hearted smile.
Satoshi thought for a moment and nodded.
"Yes, that could be good. You find different things in different kinds of terrain. And it's not like we're too concerned about travel difficulty... though maybe we should be..."
Satoshi scrunched his face a bit as he considered the weight of his pack, loaded down with ingredients and tools. He really needed to figure out a better carrying method.
"I could carry more," Kichiro offers to his brother. "After... well, I'm strong enough now to carry quite a bit."
"Anyway, let's keep moving. After all," he forces a grin, "This is our great adventure, getting to see the world, right?"
The skills that Kichiro had polished in the forest outside your home serves the two of you well as you travel, allowing the two of you to both survive off of the land, and avoid hazards as you see fit. The foods that the two of you can gather are mainly wild herbs and vegetables— tubers and such– and game that is easily brought down with skilled coordination. The nights are cold, but able to be managed, even if they are a bit uncomfortable. Through it all, you are surrounded by the scents and sounds of the wild grassland, with the bite of the cold air stinging your nose, and the distant taste of ice.
Trees are not plentiful in the plains, but there are the occasional copse, or lone tree standing tall amidst what would usually be just low grasses and the rare hill. The sun will be setting soon, and thus far it has been only two days. Hihibo may be a few more days away, but that does not stop either of you from indulging in slight detours that may catch your attention, be it a stray scent or curiosity that could be resolved with a detour of an hour or so.
The sudden sound of ice cracking that barely precedes a chill that reaches into your bones, sapping your strength and numbing your muscles, leaving a thin coating of frost over everything around you for several feet. It is only after that that you can hear the wingbeats, and look up to see a small, winged humanoid fly up and out of easy reach.
________________________________
Kichiro shivers at the sudden chill, wondering what magic caused it until he sees the small creature. A flash of anger crosses his face, followed by a moment of hunger that he does his best to quash.
"Hey! What did we ever do to you?" Kichiro shouts as he gets his sling out.
Satoshi is snapped out of thoughtful musing, and immediately assesses the surrounding with sharp eyes until he sees the creature.
The humanoid is small, and its leathery wings keep it aloft, though the horns on its head and its shape seems like it is a piece of winter come to life, though the mottled colors of its body make it surprisingly hard to see in the dimming light. Sharper angles than most living things that you have seen, the claws and cruel cast to its expression do not bode well. It is hovering some fifteen feet in the air, just a little ways away from you, apparently intent on no good. Under the scents of the area, there is a thin, cold scent, almost like that hint of ice that had been smelled earlier, but earthier, like frozen rocks, or icicles from a metal roof.
As the two of you get your bearings, it rasps something in hisses and hollowed sounds, pointing a finger at the noisiest one. Streaks of bluish light arc out randomly from its fingertip so fast that the afterimages seem like solid lines connecting to Kichiro before they are gone in the blink of an eye.
________________________________
•
Kichiro yelps in pain as the spell hits him, but the yelp soon turns to a growl of anger. How dare this thing just attack them out of nowhere like this? He should rip out and devour its lungs!
He dismissed the thought with an angry shake of his head while he loads a bullet into his sling. "We should spread out!" he tells Satoshi, following his own advice by jogging off the path several paces before slinging the bullet at the aggressor.
Satoshi nods and moves a short ways in a different direction, also moving closer to the creature so that he was in good throwing range. "Maybe I should have learned to make fire instead of acid..."
This creature looked difficult to hit, but since it was flying there was no good way to land an explosive near it either. Satoshi settled for simply lobbing a flask of acid at it.
[i]As the attacks land, the creature seems to not be as affected as them as one might hope...[/b]
The impact of the stone and acid damage the creature significantly enough that peers closer at the two of you before attempting another spell. The sounds it makes are harsh and calling as its claws leave a circular glyph in the air, that rotates and flares out of existence revealing...
Nothing.
Satoshi is able to notice a hint of concern amidst the cruel expression, as it puts another ten feet of height between itself and the ground, starting to circle the two of you.
_______________________
••
Kichiro keeps up his attacks, suspecting it had just tried to attack them with magic again.
Satoshi considers the situation, annoyed at the awkward angle for lobbing his other flask; acid was often better than normal attacks against creatures that resisted damage, from what he understood. As it was, there was still one thing he could try; a well aimed crossbow bolt might be able to ground it.
+Entangle from Entangling Shot
A solid hit to the creature sees it not react as much as something that size should, given the hits that have connected with it, though that does not mean that it is not hurt. Acid burns across its skin, eating at the small pouches it wears as a belt.
The creature swoops in towards Kichiro, right up into his face, and its clawed hand swipes at Kichiro's eyes, just missing, but scoring his cheekbone and brow.
________________________________
•••
,
Kichiro snarls as much in anger as pain. How dare you! something deep within him roars, and before he can realize what's happening the young kitsune is changing form. He swells up to twice his size, his fur darkening as his claws grow long and sharp. He slashes at the impudent little creature with said claws, but his attack fails to take into account his increased size and goes wide.
Kichiro manages to hold on to his sense of self in spite of the rage, but he feels something within him urging him to rip this creature open and devour its vitals.
Not wanting to throw a splashing flask into a melee including his brother, Satoshi considered his options. He doubted he was strong enough to damage the creature in melee, so trying to ground it with a shot to the wing was probably still his best option.
He thus reloaded and fired once again.
+ Entangle
The coordinated attack is taking its toll on the creature, burned and injured, now hampered by the bolt that is stuck in its wing, its actions are becoming more aggressive as this encounter may be reaching a tipping point...
As Kichiro swells— much to the surprise of the creature– the missed attack gave an opportunity which was seized, as it drew a deep breath and exhaled a across a wide area, catching Kichiro full on, and trying to include Satoshi as well. Hearing it again, this was the sound of the ice crackling and that bone-deep cold from the flash-freeze was perhaps even more terrifying, given the source.
_______________________________
,
Kichiro takes the blast of ice full in the face and roars in rage. While the ice stiffens his movements a bit, he still slashes at the annoying little creature with both claws and even tries to bite it.
Satoshi is nimbler and avoids most of the ice. He narrows his eyes, reloads a bold, and takes his best shot at the weakened creature, knowing that its tangled wing would hamper its evasion.
Aggression has given way to desperation as the claws and maw of Kichiro drip with a faintly blue chilled blood, and hampered by the bolt in its wing, the creature screeches, yelling intelligible words accented harshly.
"Mercy! Mercy! My riches for my life!"
Having some difficulty flying, the creature does hover, but it is greatly pained and wounded severely. It does not make any attempt to attack, perhaps hoping that the offer it made would be enough to prevent its death.
______________________________
•
Kichiro reigns in the voice that says to KILL and DEVOUR ITS LIVER with difficulty. Instead he snarls at the little creature, "Why did you attack us out of nowhere? What cause did you have to try to kill us?"
Desperation is present, but the panic seems to have receded, leaving a gravely wounded small creature from somewhere not of this place. Kichiro can smell it like the smell of melting ice after a frost, the chill on his claws like peppermint oil and chilled spirits...
"Prey folk are not-prey folk. Death of riches for not-death of self", it rasps out, like the thin wind from the plains. As if hopeful of acceptance of the trade, it flies back somewhat awkwardly, the bolt still in its wing until it can get a chance to remove it.
______________________________
••
Kichiro narrows his eyes. "So some people are prey to you?" he growls.
Questions filled his mind, like "why would such a little thing hunt people instead of, say, mice?" but probably the worst was, "how close was he to being a monster like this?" Part of him thinks anything that preys on people should be destroyed, but then what about himself? And it doesn't feel right to kill something that surrendered, especially when he doesn't know if he'd be able to resist eating it if they killed it.
Realizing he's hardly one to be unbiased right now, he turns to his brother. "What do you think, Satoshi?"
Satoshi considered the creature. It looked... out of place? But he lacked the right study to really make a decent judgement. Instead he just watched it for any signs that it was faking or lying.
"...I think I don't know enough about what this creature is to say for certain what was going on here. But I would rather be merciful and possibly regret it later than not be merciful and know that it would bother us afterward."
Kichiro nods in agreement. "Go on then," he says to the little creature. "And we'd better not hear about you attacking other people later. There's plenty of animals around. If you need to eat, attack them."
To Satoshi's experienced eye, the desperation and fading panic are legitimate, and certainly not faked. There is a flicker of hidden derision and dismissal at Kichiro's admonishment as it lands to pull the bolt out of its wing with a wince.
The creature does undo the acid eaten belt and its couple of pouches, leaving that on the ground as an offering for sparing its life before it tests its wings again, the peppermint and ice scent of its blood underlaying the smell of the acid, and one might wonder how it would taste if ice and peppermint were what it smelled like...
________________________
•••
"Go on, then. Get out of here, and never trouble this place again," Kichiro growls, feeling his self-control straining to hold him back from just ripping open the little monster.
Satoshi keeps and eye on the creature as it leaves, before investigating what it left.
"...Still not sure what that thing was, but I can't help but think that it is worrying that it was here. An icy creature like that seems out of place here."
The small belt on the ground with its three pouches clink as Satoshi takes a careful look at what the creature left behind. While the articles themselves are rather worse for the wear, what is inside is quite serviceable.
The clink turns out to be pieces of platinum, and twenty of them, at that! The coinage is not uniform, but they are all of similar weight, at least. In another pouch, there is the muted 'clak' of stones, and those turn out to be uncut gemstones, still raw and unpolished, but the Agate, Sapphire, and Red Beryl are almost as valuable. The final item of potential worth found in the pouch was a piece of wood, perhaps as long as a finger, and maybe only as wide as a palm. It seemed to be cut or broken, as there was perhaps only half of a symbol or pictogram carefully painted onto it and sealed with lacquer.
A sliver of light remains on the horizon, and even now, the colder winds begin to blow, thankfully not bringing ice, judging by the smell. There is a hint of rain, not today, but perhaps tomorrow.
_____________________________
Kichiro takes a deep breath and shrinks back down to his normal size as he lets it out. Only then does he realize how much pain he's in.
"I should do something about this..." he mutters.
Satoshi looks up from considering the items.
"Here, I can help a bit. I always keep a healing salve on me when I can..."
"Though now we might want to look for a place to set up camp, it's starting to get dark. And I'll need to brew replacements for what I've used."
Kichiro sighs, tension flowing out of him as his brother soothes his wounds. "Let's go a little further before making camp. I want to... at least get away from the scent of blood."
Satoshi nodded at Kichiro's statement. "...Probably wise. Even without...other troubles, it might attract danger."
Kichiro leads the way away from the battle site, going until he can no longer smell the blood, then keeping going for another mile or so afterward, before suggesting it's a good place to camp.
[i]Guided by Kichiro's knowledge, it is the larger part of another hour before the two of you encounter a location that seems to be used as a common campsite, the dug out and block-ringed fire pit cold, but with some remnant of ashes, while the ground around it is cleared for twenty or so feet. A post is driven into the ground not too far off, scored and weathered as well, though it seems to be holding up capably. Judging by the signs and the weathering of the blocks, this is something that may have been accumulated over time, with contributions having been made by travelers that utilized the space.
It is not too difficult to make out in the lack of light, but the grasses in this immediate area look and smell different than the others.
______________
Kichiro works in silence for a bit as he and Satoshi work to set up camp in the dark. He doesn't comment on how the darkness seems a bit less impenetrable to him than it probably would have a scant few weeks ago.
Finally he breaks the silence. "I think... I have to learn to control this," he states. "I think it's worse if it... comes out on its own."
Satoshi nods solemnly. "Controlled release is usually a better solution than bottling up and then dealing with the explosion. Probably best to be cautious still, though. Maybe we can look for a safe place tomorrow where you could test out something simple to start? I could brew and extra satiation potion to be safe..."
Kichiro returns his brother's nod. "That's... probably a good idea. Let's do that then."
Preparations are made and set as eventually the two brothers drift into sleep around the fire pit. The night turns cold, but near the fire it is mitigated enough to sleep fitfully, one in their bedroll, the other wrapped in a blanket...
The two of you wake to a frost-covered sight, the air sharp and cold. The fire has since dwindled at some time during the night, but by that time, your respective coverings held enough heat to endure the temperature. Shaking off the frost is a minor effort, though it may have been slightly amusing for Satoshi to see Kichiro with frost across various parts, due to his lack of a bedroll.
A small amount of work gets a fire going, and the two of you can greet the rising sun in your own manners. There are no lingering scents of anything that passed nearby enough to threaten the two of you, and no sign of the creature that harried you the night before.
Kichiro shivers, glad he's in his kitsune form right now so he at least has fur. "I forget how cold it gets at night..." he mutters.
He inhales deeply, trying to ignore the scent of his brother's lungs as he searches for signs of anything odd. He doesn't smell anything suspicious, so he turns to Satoshi. "Are you... we, ready to see if I can... figure this out a bit better?"
Satoshi fiddles away at his alchemical apparatus, readying his concoctions for the day.
"Almost. Brewing an extra Satiety Tincture still. You take the first dose already?"
Kichiro pulls a vial out of his pouch and drinks it. "Now I have," he says, trying to avoid grimmacing at the taste (like usual).
He waits anxiously for his brother to finish the spare tincture, but once Satoshi gives him the go-ahead, he hesitates. What if something went wrong? What if... he attacked his brother?
No, no... he knew his reasoning was right. If he couldn't figure out how to control this better, he *would* end up doing something he'd regret again. And so, focusing, he slowly draws on the transformative power within him.
It responds easily--too easily. Indeed, he soon finds himself having to rein it back, to force it to not change him into the rampaging beast he had become before. He almost loses it, but manages to force it just into his hands, which sprout wicked-looking claws.
"That's... something..." he pants, physically reacting to his mental effort.
Reining the urge in as it rises is not impossible, but the feeling is different from when they are being threatened. The urges do not rise as fast, though Kichiro can tell there is the desire to utilize the new changes, to validate their presence— after all, what good is a change if it is not used?
Satoshi, watching intently can see when his brother fights back the urges, can tell when the pull almost overtakes him, the change seeming like it was someone else there for a moment. Curious, but not something that he had more insight on besides his own observations— albeit closer than usual.
"It is... a bit easier to control..." Kichiro comments. Focusing, he carefully changes something else, swelling up to twice his normal size, before dropping the transformation entirely.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, he reports, "I have to focus to maintain it this way, but I think with some practice maybe I can... reduce the tendancy to go berserk."
He practices going through the transformations a few more times, trying different variations, though he doesn't try too hard to experiment with what kinds of transformations he can do, focusing mostly on control.
Satoshi furrows his brow a bit as he watches the changes. They were... slightly worrying, but at least there were some upsides.
"Well, it's good to know you at least can control it, though the focus could be hard to maintain in stressful situations. I'm... not really sure if this is the kind of thing that improves with practice or not. I'm not a magically-skilled type..."