ɤSwing Life Awayɤ (Open)

[shatan]

ɤ Zensen ɤ
ɤ I’m the voice ɤ
ɤ Inside your head ɤ
ɤ You refuse to hear ɤ

Swing life away.

Never had he imagined that anywhere could be more beautiful a place to live than his home with the tribe up north, but even the mountains which he had been in awe over for the past centuries hardly compared to this awe-invoking meadow. It was not so much the flowers that caught his eye; he was not one for such frivolous things as flowers, which could be used by his people only as decorations. No, what caught his eye was the pure serenity which permeated the land itself.

He had seen this meadow many times as he wondered along the banks of the river, but he had always been distracted by the powerful river, and had not taken notice of this flowery place. But now, as he walked leisurely through this meadow, the river at his back and a forest to his front, he had a chance to admire the peace, the calm which was everywhere in this meadow. How the other Thylacines must have loved this place; he did recall hearing the stories they told, and mention of wondrous meadows, but he had never understood what was so great about them. He let out a quiet laugh; if only he had known, he might have matured up a bit quicker to get out in the world sooner.

“What, exactly, is so funny?”

He glanced over his shoulder to the sulking Tasmanian tiger who followed him, her ears and tail drooping towards the ground as she stomped along; quite the feat for so light a creature.

“I was just remembering how I disregarded the old stories about this place, only to come here and be awed by it,” he explained, waving a bare arm about at the meadow.

“What, awe? You’re actually enjoying this, are you? The scent is making my nose want to run for cover; it’s repulsive,” Haramaki responded, glowering at him.

“You forget, Hara, that my nose is just as keen as yours, which is hardly that keen to being with; it’s not so bad as you say.”

“Yeah, well, still,” she muttered; they were both well aware that he had an excellent point.

They walked along quietly for a while, before the tiger spoke up again, “Besides, this place is makin’ my fur stand on end. Didn’t they say something about some spirit or other here?”

“Come to think of it, they did, but please tell me you’re not scared, or I’d have to send you back home,” he responded, grinning slightly.

“I’m not scared, I just don’t like it, that’s all,” she said, then muttered, barely loud enough for Zen to hear, “not that going home would be a bad thing.”

“Is my company that horrible?” he asked, throwing her a hurt look over his shoulder.

Her ears shot up, a look of surprise on her face, “what, you heard that? I mean, you know I didn’t mean it…”

She trailed off when she realized that Zen was laughing quietly, her ears dropping and the glare returning to her face.

The Thylacine fell into incomprehensible muttering, a background noise that Zensen had grown quite used to since they left home. Haramaki had made it no secret that she wanted to be back home, not tramping about in unfamiliar lands, but she never once had seriously thought about leaving Zen; as each Thylacine familiar was, she was bound to stay with the tribe member that picked her, and that happened to be Zensen. Besides, Zen was hardly worried; he and Hara had a connection, like the other pairs of youkai and familiar did, and he knew that deep down, she was just as curious about the outside world as he was. She just didn’t like to show it.

He paused in his step, Haramaki halting almost immediately after, as he got an idea to mess with Hara; any time she got in one of these sour moods and stopped being her entertaining self, he took it upon himself to make up for that lack of tricks and pranks.

“Say, Hara, what do you say we rest here for a bit, eh? I quite like it here; I can smell all the flowers from here.”

He turned around to find her glaring silently at him, and he returned her gaze with a completely innocent one for several moments, until she broke at last and said, “you know I hate you, right?”

He grinned, “yep, and I’m okay with it.”

She sighed, “fine, torture my poor nose while you get your beauty sleep; I’d hate for you to look any worse than you already do.”

Zen returned the Thylacine’s grin before he chose a spot and sat down on the ground, the Tasmanian tiger coming to sit next to him. They both sat silently, glancing about at their surroundings; Zen spent the time checking if there were any herbs among the flowers which he might collect on his way back home as a gift to his father; southern herbs would surely help his supplies. Hara, on the other hand, spent the time watching for danger, a common past time for the creature who was both friend and guardian to the young youkai. She only hoped that no danger would come this way; she didn’t feel like saving Zensen’s sorry hide today.

ɤ I’m Dying for Truth ɤ
ɤ I’m the face ɤ
ɤ That you have to face ɤ
ɤ Mirrored in you stare ɤ

_{Lyrics © Foo Fighters, Rise Against}

[kitsunemiko]

Interesting how some sites never ceased to amaze, this meadow was one of them. After her first visit she had made it an effort to come here at least once a week during her travels. Usually it was her who occupied the field, but occasionally there would be another animal or person. She took in a deep breath, the scent of sweet grass reached her nose. It was so calming here, which was something she needed. Week after week of searching for jewel shards got tiring. But being able to spend at least a day at the meadow was worth it. Her grey eyes looked up at the sky, admiring the white puffy clouds that floated by. The Miko outfit she wore rustled slightly with the wind, she had worn an extra layer today because of the slight chill in the air. Of course the only extra layer she had to her Miko garb was one that made her attire a little to formal for her liking. Her eyes drifted back down to look where she was going and to her surprise she could see two other figures not to far off. Being the friendly person she was she decided to go and greet them. She walked up to them with a friendly smile on her face.

”Hello hope you don’t mind sharing the meadow with me today, I come here every week. If you don’t mind me asking where do you come from, you just don’t see many people make the trip up to these fields…people keep telling me something about a ghost. Do you know anything about that because I haven’t seen one, and I’m usually pretty good about searching them out?


She said this in a calm voice, as she looked over at the two, she couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on the large feline. It was the first time she had ever seen a tiger so this experience would prove interesting. The feline was obviously alert for any dangers, hopefully she wouldn’t perceive her as one. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that she realized she had yet to introduce herself.

”Oh gomen how rude of me, my names Yukina Hijikata the traveling Miko.”

[shatan]

((Just a note, Hara is a Tasmanian tiger, not technically a tiger; I just get lazy and write tiger most of the time, xD By the way, your avatar is great; I haven’t watched that show in years and still find that funny, lol.))

ɤ Zensen ɤ
ɤ I’m the voice ɤ
ɤ Inside your head ɤ
ɤ You refuse to hear ɤ

Again from the top now and tell me everything.

Simultaneously both youkai and familiar turned towards the sound of the approaching newcomer; a Thylacine’s hearing was by far their best sense, and neither missed the approaching footsteps. Haramaki watched the girl with suspicion, while Zen merely watched in curiosity; he did enjoy speaking with people outside of his tribe, they were often quite interesting people.

But Hara never could drop her guard; they had run into some of the more violent and unsavory types, and she automatically expected that of everyone who came along. Zen smiled slightly as he felt the tension rolling off his companion, and, without taking his dark red gaze from the approaching girl, placed his hand on her thin back.

“Easy, girl; this one’s hardly a threat,” he whispered to the Tasmanian tiger as he stood up to greet the stranger.

“Sure; that’s what you’ve said about ‘em all, and we’ve seen how that ends…” she muttered, then fell silent, standing and walking forward, placing herself slightly in front of Zen.

The youkai’s lip twitched slightly in amusement at how over-protective Haramaki could be some times, before he turned his attention back to the stranger, offering a slight nod of greeting in return to her words. He grinned a bit at her many questions, and especially at her hurried introduction; and Hara considered this girl a threat.

“Of course not,” he said, “such places should be shared. How very nice to meet you, miss Yukina; I’m Zensen of the Tasukaru Thylacine tribe, from the northern mountains, not far from where the wolves live.”

The muttered comments of his Thylacine companion would be too quiet for the stranger to hear, but with his hearing, Zen distinctly heard the words “brown” and “nose”. He merely ignored Hara, a slight twitch of his lip the only sign he had heard at all; it was best to be respectful in order to not anger anyone. There was hardly a better way to avoid confrontation.

“I have heard some stories of a ghost that lives here, but I am not sure they are true; knowing my tribe members, they very well could have been lying to impress the rest of us,” he replied, letting out a short, quiet laugh; it was quite true, the young returning Thylacines had always competed to have the best stories of their journeys.

“If it’s not to probing to ask, could I know where you are from? I am away from my tribe so that I can learn the land, and I hope to have some goals of places to see before I return to the mountains.”

Again the young Thylacine familiar let loose a torrent of quiet muttering; they were comments which Zen had become all too used to, merely meant in a joking manner and not to offend. It was simply Hara’s way, to speak in such a way. She had made Zen’s respectful—and, to her mind, borderline brown-nosing—way of speaking a common subject of her commentary. But even she had to admit that it had saved them some wounds before, and that it undoubtedly would do so again. Still, Hara never let him forget that it wasn’t necessary to lick the boots of everyone who came along, though Zen never let her forget that he could do far worse.

ɤ I’m Dying for Truth ɤ
ɤ I’m the face ɤ
ɤ That you have to face ɤ
ɤ Mirrored in you stare ɤ

_{Lyrics © Foo Fighters, Rise Against}

[kitsunemiko]

As expected the tiger wasn’t easy to put at ease, but in this era or any era it was easy to understand why she was so defensive. The little Tasmanian tiger’s attitude reminded much of her demonic friend Kanrya’s. When the male spoke she was surprised to find out that he was well mannered. In fact he happened to be the first one she ran into that hadn’t glared at her suspiciously or attack her at first site. Though his politeness could be due to the fact that he wished to avoid angering anyone it attempt not to fight. If so then he and she had something in common. At this thought she couldn’t help but let her smile grow, it would be nice to have a pleasant conversation with some one whom seemed not to have a short temper.

”Its very nice to meet you Zensen, the Northern Mountains area is a lovely place it’s a surprise that you ever left.”

She listen to his response, for a era with no phones stories sure seemed to travel a lot. Perhaps she should look more into this ghost tale, it could be fun. She was brought out of her ghost hunting thoughts by a question to where she was originally from.

”Hmmm well I was originally born in the Southern lands, but now I currently reside in a village that’s located in Inuyasha’s Forest. Though if you’re looking for places to go I suggest you check out Hikari Springs.

At that moment her stomach growled, and she blushed a bit. She hadn’t eaten yet so she was kinda hungry. She gave them a bashful smile and held up a bag she carried with her.

”Hope you don’t mind if I eat a quick bite, I haven’t gotten to eat yet today. I’ve got plenty if you two want some. I would like to hear more about your tribe, because the only tribes I’ve heard living up in those mountains are the wolf tribe, harpy tribe, and fox tribe.

She plopped down on the ground not caring if her white haori would get dirty. Personally she was more interested in eating then she was about staying clean.

[shatan]

ɤ Zensen ɤ
ɤ I’m the voice ɤ
ɤ Inside your head ɤ
ɤ You refuse to hear ɤ

Before we packed our bags.

A quiet “yuck” was the only further comment that came from the Thylacine, a surprisingly human sound to come from an animal, but then she fell silent and turned away from the two youkai; she had apparently decided that the surrounding flowers were a greater threat than the girl was. Zen smiled a bit at his companion’s actions; three years and she was still sour about having to leave the mountains.

But unlike Hara, Zen was quite enjoying this time away from the norm of the tribe. And this girl, human or youkai—with the Thylacine’s poor sense of smell, he couldn’t be fully sure—was a decent person to be around, a rarity outside of the close-knit family tribe he came from. Besides, this was his chance to educate himself, and knowledge was far more important to him than power was to so many other youkai in the land.

“Yes, well, Hara and I,” he gestured towards the sulking tiger, “are on something of a ‘right of passage’ journey; we Thylacines have to spend time alone and outside the tribe for many years before we are considered adults,” he said, by way of explanation as to why he had left the mountains up north. He had to agree with the girl, they were a wonderful sight, but, probably due to the newness of these other lands, he was far more impressed with things outside the mountain territories than within them.

He considered her next words, about the forest and village, “Inuyasha’s forest?” he asked, “That’s to the east, isn’t it?” He had heard some tale about the forest, but he was not entirely sure if he was confusing this forest with another; and it certainly never hurt to ask and make sure. As for the springs, he had not heard of them, but he was sure he’d see them some time or another; he was more interested in a village, with people to speak with and learn from, than any spring.

Zen smiled a bit as the girl’s stomach rumbled; it would have been hard to miss for anyone, and it was impossible for one with his hearing to miss it. He laughed quietly as Hara turned around quite quickly at the mention of food, her tall ears perked forward curiously; sometimes he wondered whether or not that Thylacine thought with her brain, or just with her stomach; it certainly seemed like the latter more often than not. When she realized she’d been caught, Hara dropped her ears and looked away, trying to act as though she was not interested, though he could still see her nose quivering as she tried to decide if the food was any good or not.

“No, I’m not hungry, but thank you for the offer, and I’m sure that Haramaki might take you up on it,” he said, grinning when the Thylacine turned a glare on him.

“What, me? Of course not; what gave you that idea?” she said, the first words she had spoken loud enough for the stranger to hear. Zen had to laugh again at his companion’s huffy tone; what a mood she was in today!

“Well, I just thought you would, but I guess I was mistaken, oh well,” he said innocently, then addressed the girl, “Thanks again for the offer, but I guess that neither of us will be taking you up on it.”

“Don’t be silly, of course I will; it’d be rude to turn down an offer of hospitality,” Hara said quickly, earning another soft laugh from Zen; a laugh which she did her best to act like she hadn’t heard as she took a seat near the girl, sitting up as proud as she could given the circumstances.

Zen was still grinning as he took a seat on the ground next to Hara, who was now watching the girl intently as she waited for her share of food. Unlike Yukina, Zen had very little to worry about getting dirty; he dressed simply, in only a loose pair of deer-hide pants; he didn’t have to worry about the temperature, after all, growing up in the northern mountains doesn’t allow for anyone to be a wimp to the cold. Apart from his pants, the only other items he wore was a quiver of fang-headed arrows and an unstrung bow tied to the quiver but within easy reach. His people were simple craftsmen; not nobles or wealthy merchants, and their dress reflected this.

“Well, I’m really supposed to be out here to learn from strangers like you, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to answer your questions,” he said once he was settled, “What, specifically, did you want to know about the Thylacines?”

ɤ I’m Dying for Truth ɤ
ɤ I’m the face ɤ
ɤ That you have to face ɤ
ɤ Mirrored in you stare ɤ

_{Lyrics © Foo Fighters, Rise Against}

[kitsunemiko]

With delicate hands she took out some carefully wrapped food from her bag, she had brought plenty with her so there was more then enough to share with three of them if they wish to do so. As she was unwrapping she let her mind wander trying to gather the information she knew about this tribe. Now that she did think about it she had heard of such a tribe many years ago. They were mostly known for there outrageous story telling, there tribe members were among the children’s favorites back then. But since then she didn’t hear any news about the tribe or its members. While she was thinking she also listened to them tell why they had left there village. She vaguely wondered what her right of passage would have been if her first family had not been caught in the crossfire all those years ago. Once he asked if Inuyasha’s Forest was somewhere in the east she nodded.

”Yep as far east as possible, Inuyasha is Inutaisho’s son so I’m guessing he’s trying to stay as far away from him and his brother. Though I’m not to sure what he would have against his father….his brother I can see why he would want to stay away from him.

Of course Yukina had left the feudal era before Inutaisho’s death, and had yet to be filled in on how the western lands were now in his eldest sons hands. When the tiger spoke Yukina couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow with curiosity. After all she didn’t know it could speak. She smiled as she accepted her offer and gladly gave her half. The food had been made by Yukina, whom happen to be an excellent cook. She had plenty of practice because her Mother couldn’t cook to save her life. It was a simple lunch of Onigiri and chicken, and somehow the chicken was still steaming hot. Of course Yukina had added some fresh herbs as spices to give it some extra flavor.

”Please take all you want, I couldn’t possibly eat all this. I was originally going to share it with my friend Kanrya but I’m afraid she’s all mad at me for some reason.”

She smiled at the tiger, it seemed that she didn’t perceive her as much of a threat anymore. Which was good because she had not intention of starting up a fight, especially with demons. When Zensen spoke she looked over at him and smiled she only had a few questions but if he had any to ask her she would gladly answer.

”Well now that I’ve thought about it I have heard of your tribe before, some of the ones whom were out use to go around to other villages and tell stories. Infact when I was younger I traveled with one of your kind for a couple of days. It was a very interesting experience, he must have told the same stories to three different people in three different ways.

She chuckled a bit at the memory, it was a bit hazy but she remembered enough to make her laugh. After all she had to of been only around 5 at the time.

”Personally I care to hear anything you can tell me about your tribe because I do not know much. Also if you wish you can ask my any questions that you may want to know and I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.

She took a bite from her Onigiri, thinking it would be best to eat while he was talking.

[shatan]

ɤ Zensen ɤ
ɤ I’m the voice ɤ
ɤ Inside your head ɤ
ɤ You refuse to hear ɤ

We had a place that we could call home.

Zen knew he had heard the names before, those ones that she mentioned, he simply couldn’t place it…ding! That’s right, he’d heard from the wolves. He had met with a couple of them when they passed at the border back before he left home. They had spoken of a mutt that kept getting on their leader’s nerves. Wasn’t his name Inu-something-or-other? That must be it. Well, that just made the village all the more interesting; it never hurt to hear two sides of an argument.

Zen was brought back to the present when the girl placed the food in front of him and Haramaki, and he watched in amusement as the tiger crouched in front of the food, sniffing it cautiously, as though she weren’t sure if it was safe. She made up her mind quite quickly, however, and wasted no more time before snagging a large piece of the chicken in her jaws, chewing twice, and swallowing it.

As an afterthought, she glanced over to Zen, remembering that she should make sure he was fed first. “Um, you can have the onigiri, Zen,” she said a bit meekly.

He grinned, “No, I’m not hungry, but since you’re so worried about being rude, you’d best make sure you eat it,” he said, full aware that Hara would have no interest in the rice.

She shot him a very dark look, groaned slightly, and then practically inhaled one of the onigiri, obviously trying to get it over with before she returned to the chicken.

Zen turned his attention back to the girl, smiling slightly, “Well, I’m sorry about your friend, but with Hara here, at least the food won’t go to waste. You’d be surprised how much she can pack in to that skinny body of hers.”

The Thylacine paused in chewing a bit of chicken, shot him a dark look, and muttered something which even he could not understand due to the fact that she spoke around the food. Thinking that she had put him in his place, Hara returned to eating without offering any clarification as to what she had said. Zen simply shook his head, chuckling quietly.

The youkai looked at the girl in slight surprise when she said that she’d traveled with one of his tribe members before. It was not an uncommon thing for Thylacines to travel with others during their right of passage; the Tasukaru Thylacines were social things, and sometimes they just needed another person to talk with other than their familiar. Zen knew that feeling quite well, though he had not yet considered travelling with any other people he had met; he rather liked the freedom of not having any companion other than Hara, who, despite her complaining, left the decisions to him.

He grinned at the mention of the variations of the stories, “Yes, that definitely sounds like one of my tribe-mates. Do you happen to remember his name? Perhaps I know him, I might could you how he’s doing, and let him know that I’d seen you when I return,” he said; he, like all the others, was subject to be eager to top everyone else’s stories, and if he could say he had met the same demon—which of course she must be if she travelled with one of the tribe members long enough ago that he had not heard or did not remember hearing about her—as another tribe member had, then that would certainly give more value to his stories.

He paused to consider what to tell her about his people; there was quite a bit he could tell, but he was not sure what she would be interested in. And he had a reputation to keep; his kind were not just craftsmen, they were story-tellers, after all. But he supposed that it was important that his people were mainly craftsmen; a good place to start, he decided.

“Let’s see, you already know that we’re all a lot of truth-stretchers, but in all sincerity, we’re craftsmen by trade. When we’re young, we apprentice with each member of the tribe to learn what options are available, in addition to learning how to hunt and gather and the like. While we train, we choose a type of weapon, and close tribe members make one that is to last us the rest of our lives.”

He paused, reaching behind him to pull out his unstrung bow, placing it in his lap, being careful of the fangs set into the wood all the while, “For me, they made this bow, the Hogosha,” he explained, running his hand over the smooth wood on the inner curve of the bow, again being careful of the fangs on the outer edge. As he continued, he replaced the bow in its resting place on his quiver.

“At some point during our training, whenever a new litter is born, we get taken to the den to choose from the pups a companion,” he reached out and stroked the thin side of Haramaki, who was happily working on the chicken, “I chose Haramaki, and she’s been with me for nearly two centuries since then.”

“And a wondrous two centuries they’ve been,” the object of conversation muttered around a chunk of chicken, considerably more intelligible this time.

Zen grinned and patted Hara on the side, “You know you’ve enjoyed it.”

The only response she gave was to roll her eyes as she tore into the chicken once more as Zen continued, “When our parents think we’re old enough, we Thylacines are given our weapon and sent out for no shorter a time then a century to explore the outside world and learn as much as we possibly can to bring back as much knowledge as we can to the tribe. Hara and I have been off the tribe territory for the past three years, so we’ve still got a while. When we return, I’ll choose what craft appeals the most to me, and set in as a full-time apprentice with someone who works that craft, and whenever my master thinks I’m ready, then I’ll be a full-fledged Thylacine,” he paused, wondering briefly what craft he would choose and when he’d be considered more than an apprentice at it, then added, “That’s about how it goes for everyone in the tribe, male and female. We hunt, we gather, we craft, we mate; the life of a Thylacine,” he finished, grinning.

“So, now that I’ve told you my life story, would you mind if I asked what kind of life your kind have?”

ɤ I’m Dying for Truth ɤ
ɤ I’m the face ɤ
ɤ That you have to face ɤ
ɤ Mirrored in you stare ɤ

_{Lyrics © Foo Fighters, Rise Against}

((And a solid hour later I come up with 1150 words; and there lies the problem with me writing so much xD Sorry for the wait, lol))

[kanrya]

Kanrya was watching the wolf den for any signs of kouga and sighed and chewed a piece of the long grass and sat in the field stomach rumbling and sighed. She knew that she shouldn't be to angry at Yui-chan but she couldn't help but feel betrayed. "What the hell am I going to do now?" She sighed and her stomach growled yet again. "Man i could eat anything and i mean anything..." She sighed and lay on her stomach and sighed. She smelled good food and sat up in the field and quietly and stealthly snuck towards the smell.

[kitsunemiko]

Glad that the tiger was enjoying her meal Yukina continued on her own. In this era she could cook so much better, mainly because the ingredients here were much fresher then the ones she was able to find in the city. She watched as Hara tried to pass off the Onigiri, it was a surprise her kind mostly perfered meat. A chuckle escaped her lips as Zensen cleverly declined the over and made sure that Hara would eat it. As Zensen spoke she nodded, it wasn’t until Hara’s inaudible comment that she let a soft laugh escape her lips. Though she could relate to Hara’s endless pit of a stomach, for she to had gotten that comment a few times. Infact when she first started school she could still remember her classmates faces when she brought out her first lunch. There shock only grew as she proceeded to finish her rather large lunch. But it was understandable that she had a huge appetite considering all the running around she did on a daily basis. The only difference between Hara’s and her eating habits was that Yukina ate hers more slowly and neatly.

A look of surprise seemed to have flickered across Zensens face at her comment of having traveled with one of the members from his tribe. When he asked if she remembered the persons name she had to go into deep thought. After all it happened so long ago. Her real parents where still living back then, so it was before the war, the only problem was she never got to see her parents together much. They were always apart as a way to protect anyone from finding out there daughters secret. She mostly traveled with her father, so it was probably with him that she traveled with one of the Thylacine tribe.

That was it! She had been with her father the time that she had met the Thylacine. It was in late autumn and they were on the road yet again. During their travels her father met some one along the way and he asked them if they knew where the nearest town was. The Thylacine was just learning the land and had not a clue where it was but was searching for the next one himself. During this time her father had asked her to trail behind and fallow them in the woods, mainly because he was unsure if the stranger was safe. Hours had passed and her father traveled and pleasantly chatted with the stranger. Her growing more bored with every passing second decided to come out against her father’s wishes. The Thylacine seemed to be shocked when he saw the young little demoness. Back then when was a full fledged demon complete with cute furry little ears and a big puffy tail that swung behind her. It was her big grey eyes that caught the elder demons attention; it was an odd eye color even for a demon. Her father wasn’t happy that she came out of hiding but since she was already there he allowed her to walk with them. A couple days had passed and they still traveled with the demon and he had yet to discover young Yukina’s secrete. By that time her dad and the Thylacine became fast friends, little Yukina had also become found of him. Every night they would stop and set up came and he would tell her these most interesting stories. It wasn’t until a year’s time that the Thylacine found out why her father and she moved around so much. He had known Yukina was Kitsune and her natural gift for fire. After all he had watched her training with her father, it was quiet enjoyable to watch. It wasn’t until one day that her father and him were out hunting, that he found out. They had left Yukina by herself thinking she was proficient enough to protect herself with her fire abilities. When they were returning they could hear the sound of claws hitting something solid, thinking that solid thing was Yukina they hurried there pace to find out what was wrong. What they saw shocked the Thylacine, yes there was a demon attacking Yukina, but instead of protecting her self with her fire abilities there was a wall of ice surrounding her. Her father destroyed the demon and turned to the Thylacine expecting the worse for his reaction. You see young Yukina was a fire and ice demon, a forbidden child; it was something the demon race disliked as much as Hanyous. A forbidden Childs birth was rare, and at its birth it was mandatory to destroy it. To keep one alive in the demonic community was breaking the law, one that was punishable by death. So it was natural to fear his friends reaction, but the Thylacines reaction was not one he had expected. Before the Thylacine always felt that his friend had been hiding something from him, he was over joyed to find out that Yukina’s secrete was all it was. From that day forward the two traveled together all the way up to her parents unfortunate end and since then Yukina hadn’t seen him since.

”Well I remember now how we met but I’m still trying to think of his name…hmm now what was it. Started with a K…OH I REMEMBER I use to call him Uncle Kake but his full name was Kakeashi. I do hope his doing well, I would very much like to see him again sometime.

A large smile spread across her face, it was obvious to her that this demon was looking for a story to top all others. A twinkle appeared in her own eye, she had a story for him that would defiantly top all others. She listened as he answered her question, what he told her she found very interesting. The bow he took out looked magnificent, it was such a pretty bow it was obvious to how much time some one had spent into making the weapon. As she was listening she could feel a presence moving towards them. Knowing whom exactly it was she picked up an Onigiri and tossed it in the air behind her. All at the same time listening to Zensens question. She sighed and thought for a moment how she was going to explain this with Kanrya around. Though this could be a good time to explain to Kanrya what she really was.

”Ok well get comfortable because this may take a while, but first… Kanrya you can stop sneaking up now you should come over to hear this to. Before I begin I should make introductions. The one who is sneaking up on us now is my temperamental friend Kanrya.”

[kanrya]

Kanrya caught the Onigiri in her mouth and growled in pleasure as she quickly wolfed it down and got up from her wolf crouch and grinned sheepishly. "I thought i was being quite..." She rubbed the back of her head in embarrasment. "How did you also know it was me?" She asked also and sat down next to Yukina. "So what story are you telling?" She looked up at the Thylacine and smiled. "As my miko friend said my name is Kanrya..." She sniffed the food and her mouth watered. "So you mind if I eat while you tell the story Yui-chan?" She asked and grinned again as her stomach growled again.

[shatan]

ɤ Zensen ɤ
ɤ I’m the voice ɤ
ɤ Inside your head ɤ
ɤ You refuse to hear ɤ

A place that we once knew.

Zen waited quietly for a response from the girl, letting her recount the past until she could remember the name of his tribe member; he wondered exactly how long ago it had been that it took her so long to remember, but he said nothing. Instead, he passed the time by watching Hara as she dug into the food; a black hole, that was what she had instead of a stomach. An endless, bottomless abyss of a black hole.

When the girl did speak, he was surprised to hear the name of the very Thylacine who over saw the dens of the Thylacine familiars. Kakeashi was the one who took care of the mothers and pups, and who helped the young Thylacines choose their companion. Heck, it had been Kake who had helped Zen choose Hara from the litter of pups he had seen. Oh, now this would be a wonderful story to tell, indeed; Kake was one of the best known Thylacines in the tribe for his work with the familiars.

“Doing well? He’s doing better than almost anyone else in the tribe,” Zen said, his voice excited, “Kake takes care of the young Thylacines and their mothers until they are chosen by someone in the tribe; he helped me choose Hara from one of the litters. His work keeps him really busy most of the time, so he isn’t able to leave the territory, but the tribe allows visitors; you could always catch one of the border patrols and ask to see him, they’d take you to him.”

It was true; unlike the wolves, the Thylacines were hardly territorial; after all, the whole point to crafting is to sell or trade what one makes, and the tribe welcomed visitors, though they were normally there only on business and did not speak much with young Thylacines like him. Still, even a pleasure visit would be allowed, and Yukina would likely be welcomed.

It was at this point that Hara actually stopped eating; she was just about to snag another piece of chicken, when one ear flicked and she jerked upwards, her eyes searching the distance. Zen tensed immediately, catching the same sound of footsteps that had caught Hara’s attention. They were quiet, but that was exactly why Thylacine’s valued their hearing so much; things didn’t easily catch them off guard. Next to their hearing, they’re sight was next best, and both Haramaki and Zen caught the tell-tale signs of movement through the field. But what they had in hearing and sight, they lacked in sight; neither could tell anything about the approaching person—or thing, for all they knew.

But both of them quickly relaxed when the girl tossed one of the rice balls over her shoulder and saw it caught by another girl not far behind. Yuki’s words put them further at ease, and Hara, after studying the new-comer with narrowed gaze for a few moments and eventually dismissing her, soon returned to eating; temperamental or not, this was still a friend of what Hara saw to be the most harmless person they’d met outside the tribe.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Kanrya, I’m Zensen,” he said, leaving off his tribe name so he didn’t rudely take too much time from Yukina; she still had her story to tell, after all.

ɤ I’m Dying for Truth ɤ
ɤ I’m the face ɤ
ɤ That you have to face ɤ
ɤ Mirrored in you stare ɤ

_{Lyrics © Foo Fighters, Rise Against}

[kitsunemiko]

”I could smell you, not to mention I can sense your aurora, how else do you think I find you when you run off.”

She finished her lunch but made sure to leave enough for Kanrya. Her story could wait right now she was more curious to learn about Uncle Kake. A smile spread across her lips when she heard he was doing well with himself. Maybe her next trip would be to visit him, it would most likely be an enjoyable experience. It didn’t surprise her to find out he was working with familiars, he had been very found of his.

”I’m glad to hear that Uncle Kake is doing well, I’ll have to make sure to visit him sometime. I guess I could wait though until you tell your story to them, wouldn’t want to ruin it for you. Plus I wouldn’t know where to find your tribe, maybe after your journeys done you could take me there. It certainly would be a surprise ending to your tale.”

She smiled, she enjoyed surprising people, and this would certainly be a surprise. But going back to the subject at hand was her past and how she was to explain this to both Kanrya and Zensen so it would make sense.

”Well first off Kanrya I didn’t lie to you when I told you I’m human, but the tale I’m about to tell you is how I got that way.

She took a deep breath as she got ready to tell her tale, it would be a long one for she would begin at the beginning.

”As I stated before I was born in the southern lands during the middle of Inutaisho’s rein. My father was a Kitsune whom was able to control the element of fire, while my Mother was an Ice Kitsune. This would make me a Forbidden child; my parents had made the decision to go against the demonic laws to keep me alive. To avoid others finding out they thought it best if they didn’t stay in once place for to long. But it was obvious to what I was with both my parents together, so one day my father decided it would be best if he took me and continued on our nomad lifestyle. My mother would stay behind, and I would only be able to see her once every few months. It was during the time that I was with my dad that I met Uncle Kake. But it wasn’t until four years after meeting him that a tragedy struck my family. It was one of the times where my father would bring me to see my mother, and at the time there was a war among the North and South. Well we got caught in crossfire between the two sides and my parents never made it out. I was nine at the time; I was scared so I ran. So I was all alone with no where to go, to survive I restored to thievery. My main target back then was human villages; I would only steal food at first. But soon I found out I rather enjoyed the art of a good theft. So as my jobs got bigger I changed my name and began to use the name Munashii. It was by using that name I became the most notorious thief in history. I have to say making myself known as the thief was my brightest move, but I got the reaction from people I was looking for. My heist became more challenging because they were already expecting me, so this just made it all the more fun. But even I know when I’ve reached the limit, if I pulled another heist I would surly be caught. I was wanted almost every where, and not just by humans. Now that demons were pursuing the chase more and more often I knew I couldn’t stay out of hiding much longer. So in order to protect myself I sealed my self up. I was sealed for centuries until one day I was disturbed from my sleep. To my surprise there weren’t any demons around, at least none that I could see. All around me were these strange buildings, and thousands upon thousands of humans. As a demon I would stick out like a sore thumb, not to mention I had no knowledge to where I was. So being a Kitsune I was able to possess an unborn child’s body. This would make me human just like anyone else, and no demon, nor human would be able to tell the difference. My mother, well my human mother turned out to be a kind hearted young woman whom hadn’t had the best of luck with males. My human father left us, leaving my mother to take care of her new child all alone. It was her that taught me all the things about the new era I was in. As I grew older as a human my Kitsune powers returned to me, just not to the full extent. I also discovered there was still some demons in the new time, and they happen to prey on the unsuspecting humans. Usually I would have cared less but my human mother has brought me to love the species which made me want to protect them. Funny thing was during that time I found out I had a unique little gift that is perceived as power a priestess would have, so I took on the role of a Miko at my family’s shrine. It was during one of my duties that I came across a well that transported me 500 years into the past. Which is how I met Kanrya, I also found out this was the time when the jewel was shattered once more. Now those shards are causing a problem for me in the future, so I decided it would be easier to collect them here with Kanrya. So that’s basically my life story, I just hope that this is far enough into the future from when I sealed myself where I’m still not wanted...

As she finished she waited for there reactions, the reaction she most was concerned about was her friend Kanrya’s. Not only was she finding out that Yukina was a demon but also a Forbidden child. She only hoped that Kanrya’s past experiences would allow her to relate to Yukina and her blood lineage. Also she hoped that she would understand why she had kept that secrete from her. Yukina’s goal was to show that as a human she could be trusted, hence proving not all humans were bad. A lesson that her mother had taught her, it was because of that lesson that she had learned to forgive the human society for turning its back on her when she was younger.

[kanrya]

Kanrya listened to the story with rapt interest and grinned as she wagged her tail. "You know that sounds almost like my story only I lived with my mother and although the wolf tribe took me in only because of my father. It sounds like I had an easier time than you did." She smiled at Yukina and then grew serious I understand that you couldn't tell me because you were afraid that I would react differently." She sat across from Yui-chan and then had a very michevious glint in her eyes. "I've heard about Munashii and I've followed your story ever since I learned how to talk and badgered my mom to tell stories about you.

[shatan]

ɤ Zensen ɤ
ɤ I’m the voice ɤ
ɤ Inside your head ɤ
ɤ You refuse to hear ɤ

Keep quiet no longer.

Zen smiled at the idea of bringing Yukina back home with him at the end of his journey; now that would give him the best story! Hara, on the other hand, did not agree with his sentiments. She paused in her eating and growled something in a feral language which Zen deciphered with ease. Not wanting either girl to ask what Hara had said, he very nonchalantly kicked the Thylacine in the side, and when she yelped and looked at him accusingly, he merely gave her a confused look, as though he had done nothing at all.

That distraction dealt with, Zen returned his attention to the miko as she began to speak again, and listened intently as she related her very long story. The story even was enough to catch Hara’s attention, who stopped eating and went to sit next to Zen, her long ears perked towards the girl as she listened with interest. Zen smiled slightly at her behavior; the mood swings that girl had!

Even when the girl had finished speaking, Zen remained silent and deep in thought; a Thylacine might could tell a story as wonderfully intricate as this, but there would not be a speck of truth to the thing; this girl spoke nothing but the truth, of that he was sure. She was far to sincere to be lying, and his sharp eyes caught the concerned look she sent to her friend; she wouldn’t be concerned about the other’s reaction if it wasn’t true.

Zensen still had not spoken when the other youkai replied; he was perfectly content to simply listen to the exchange. Haramaki, on the other hand, felt the need to be vocal.

“Well that’s all well and good,” she muttered, “but the fact still stands that she’s a thief.” She paused, then added in the same language she had used before, “I knew we couldn’t trust her, but did you listen to me? No, of course not. See, this is why you’re supposed to trust your familiar, because…”

“Enough,” Zen barked, and Hara fell silent, allowing him to address Yukina, “I’m sorry, Hara is simply being overprotective; unlike her, I was actually listening long enough to hear that you are no longer a thief,” he said, quite pointedly, then added, “And I actually find your story fascinating, though I am very sorry to hear that you’ve had such a hard life. At least you turned out all the better for it.”

Again the words ‘brown’ and ‘nose’ were present in the muttering of Haramaki, and she promptly turned and resumed her earlier watching of the surroundings, pretending as though she was not still listening to the others, though Zen knew better.

ɤ I’m Dying for Truth ɤ
ɤ I’m the face ɤ
ɤ That you have to face ɤ
ɤ Mirrored in you stare ɤ

_{Lyrics © Foo Fighters, Rise Against}

[kitsunemiko]

A sigh of relief escaped from her lips, she had been worried to what Kanrya’s reaction would be. After all she had grown quiet found of the young mixed breed and she had been more understanding then expected. A laugh escaped her lips as her friend confessed that she was a fan of her work. If she was fascinated by stories told by others, boy did she have some stories for her. A lot of her most interesting tales always went untold, she would be more then happy to tell some of her adventures. She looked over at Zensen whom she just caught kicking his friend. She raised an eyebrow at this behavior, wondering why in the world he would kick his friend. Deciding she would ask him later about it she turned back to Kanrya.

”I’m relieved that you understand and highly amused that I was a childhood hero, you have some of the worst taste in role modals though. But I have some tales I guarantee that your mother would never have known. I wouldn’t feel to bad about my life, my human mother has given me the joy of actually belonging, and my past experiences just make me appreciate it that much more.

The tiger spoke up and Yukina’s attention was turned to her, now that was the reaction she had been expecting from at least one of her listeners. She only chuckled very slightly, she went from being one of the most harmless persons you could meet, to a no good untrustworthy person. She listened to the angry exchange of words between the other two in another tongue. The only thing she could do was laugh, as Zensen tried to explain her reaction.

”Its quiet understandable, I probably would have the same reaction if I came across some one like myself. But I have to correct you on one thing, I do still enjoy a little thievery. It’s just for the fun of it though, I usually return anything I take. I do refrain from steeling from my friends and family, well most of the time I do. I’m a Kitsune by nature I like causing mischief. But I hope Hara you will not hold that against me, I give you my word that I’m not out to harm anyone besides the ones that choose to threaten me or my friends. Oh and Zensen I did notice one thing earlier that has just been eating away at my curiosity, why did you kick Hara earlier?”