One For The Money, Two For The Road [Closed]

It's been three days since she began camping out in this forest, looking for this beast that was apparently attacking the paths within the forests here. Poisoned Weald was a place she had been a couple times before, but it wasn't a place she had memorized. There were multiple paths through here, some man made, other's naturally there. It was getting close to evening, about an hour before the sun would likely go down. Sango sat on a fallen log and looked down a hill towards one of the more open paths. The information given to her about this situation was way to vague. No one knew what was attacking the people along the paths, no one knew which path it was, and she was supposed to just get lucky and find it. Usually she would not take on a job like this because of the lack of detail, but she needed to get away from home. Here, she was actually quite far away from home and it relaxed her. Every since that happened, it was hard to stick around the village and keep a smile on. So, here she was. She laid back on the fallen log, her Hiraikotsu at her side, sword hanging from the sash around her waist, chain hanging from the other side of her waist on a leather loop. She just stared up into the sky, waiting for something to happen, hoping that this was the place she needed to be.

Sango began to hum to herself. It was a lullaby that her Mother used to sing before she passed of illness. It was quiet, a breeze picking up and blowing towards the path. This caught her attention. Sango's body shot up into a sitting position as she looked down the path. There, far off towards the east, she saw a dot of sorts. It was too far for her to make it out, but she chose to keep cautious and grabbed her Hiraikotsu. She jumped off the log and hurried into the trees, running through them at a high speed, moving towards this dot off in the distance. As she got closer and closer, it began coming into view, but she kept herself in the darkness that the thick trees of the forest provided for her. Still, she hurried on, trying to get closer. She didn't want to attack something or someone who wasn't hurting anything, so she was making sure to confirm what this was before taking action.

It was a source of income, but it wasn't his first choice.  Guarding a Caravan was a type of physical labor that he wasn't great at.  Still, for Snopy Saika, it was either starve to death at home, or risk dying and get some money.  Life had kicked the crap out of him, guarding a trade caravan was the only thing he could get at the moment.  Unfortunately his skill with a sword was limited, so he'd be relying on any threats that arose to be minor, or at least for the other guards to be of aid.  Of course, in typical fashion, the animals found themselves too tired to go on further.  The journeying of the day was done, and camp was set up.  He could perhaps finally unwind.  "Saika, I want you to go ahead and scout around, make sure nothing dangerous is around."  Or not.  "Yes sir."  Snopy let out a soft sigh as he grabbed up Yasumasa and headed off into the forest.  At his feet was his pet Felli.  He didn't want to take her with him, but he had literally no one in his life, so he had to bring her to take care of her.  He'd have told her to stay at the caravan if he thought she'd listen.  He just let out a soft chuckle and continued on.  He went down the path, keeping an eye out for anything that would be odd.  It seemed like there was nothing there.  Maybe, just maybe he could catch a break.  He unknowingly walked straight past a woman who was hiding under the cover of the trees.  "We might just catch a break, eh girl?"  Unfortunately, she didn't think so.  A little worried cry came out of the creature's mouth.  That can't be a good sign.  A southeastern wind began to blow, yet something about it seemed...eerie.  "It's probably nothing, don't worry...but man, we've been walking all day.  My feet are killing me."  Snopy found a nearby tree and sat down under it.  He leaned his head back and looked to the sky.  He took a deep breath and just relaxed.  It was ironic that this was the most relaxed he had been in months.  He was in the middle of a place called Poisoned Weald, he was acting as a guard for a caravan, and he wasn't an amazing fighter so if there was any danger he might be forced to run if he wants to live.  It wasn't a smart idea, dear lord it wasn't a smart idea.  With his luck he was toying with death, but he was just too worn down to care at the moment.  He stayed like this for a short while, though he did begin to feel like he was being watched.  Snopy sighed and stood back up after a little while, moving into a more open space and putting his hand near his hilt.  He moved into that space so that he didn't risk someone slipping up behind the tree he was sitting by and slitting his throat or something.  "Is someone there?"

As she came closer, the figure of a man became clear and she stopped. Hiding in the shadows of the trees, she watched him pass her by without any idea she was there. He continued on walking, so she looked to the path he had come from. "If there was anything down there, they would have attacked him then." she thought and turned her attention back towards the man and his Felli. He didn't seem like the fighter type. He had a more gentle nature about him, but there was something in his eyes that seemed all too familiar. Sango leaned her back against the trunk of a tree, still hiding in the darkness of the forest and kept watch. She did not move a single muscle, her outfit and dark hair helping her to hide where she was. Night was falling and the sky was darkening, making it even harder to hear. "It always attacks at night..." she thought and decided it was time to prepare herself. She brought her mask out and wrapped it around her head, making sure it was nice and tight.

It didn't take long for the little Felli this man walked with to become aware of something in the forest, so Sango was on her guard. She kept quiet, still, and listened. "Where are you?" she thought to herself, looking around the darkness and waiting. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something. Behind the man and his Felli was a snake. Sango immediately recognized it. Her eyes widened and she quickly looked around for something to help. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." she thought until she saw a rock and grabbed it. Without any hesitation, as the snaked head began to raise and look towards the back of the small Felli, she threw the rock as hard as she could. The rock nailed the snake straight in the head, hard enough to send the bastard flying into a nearby tree with a low 'thump'. "Get away from it, you idiot." she thought again when she suddenly heard something. Her attention was caught again and she grabbed onto her Hiraikotsu. She began running in the opposite direction of the man, since that is where she heard the sound.

Snopy had just been relaxed when suddenly a rock went flying by him and his Felli.  "What the deuce?"  Snopy immediately jumped onto his feet, his eyes widened as he saw it.  It was a Viridescent Forest Snake, one bite and they were as good as dead.  "Just my luck, to sit down and have a deadly snake try and kill me."  Snopy might have had life kick him in the ass repeatedly, but he was intelligent, and when he could learn about something he did.  Though he was aware of how it would have gone if he had been bitten.  He would have depended on some stranger to come along and take him to Arcadia because his caravan wouldn't be turning around for him.  "You okay girl?"  The felli gave signs of being okay and Snopy let out a relieves sigh.  The snake didn't take long to reorient itself.  Snopy could have probably killed it if he aimed right, but if he missed he was dead so he had no intention of trying.  Not to mention, he heard something in the distance, and a rustling that seemed to head in that direction.  That was probably something he shouldn't walk towards.  Yet, someone might have just saved his life, and he was sent out to find anything dangerous.  "Shit...damn it I am obligated by my job to look into that, come on girl."  Snopy immediately began to run in the direction of the sounds as fast as he could, his little felli running close behind. He left the snake far behind, and hoped to never see it again. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact he felt that someone whom had just saved him was in this direction, he wouldn't have bothered. He ran through the trees, using his hands to push branches out of the way as he ran. This is a horrible idea, I'm about to get myse- Suddenly Snopy's hand missed a branch and it slammed him in the face and sent him onto the ground.

"Son of a...well that hurt." He spoke as he rubbed his nose, it didn't seem to be bleeding. He stood up and tried to dust himself off, his Felli looking up at him. "I'm fine..." He went to stand up and his foot got caught on a root and he fell back down on the ground. He wasn't even that uncoordinated, that is just his luck. "What am I even doing with my life." He said as he stood up. He didn't even bother brushing himself off, he just went back to running. He slowed down a bit and managed to avoid any more mishaps, before he came shooting out of the trees and into a small clearing. Yep, this was a bad idea. In front of him was some kind of beast, and it didn't look happy. "God I am idiot, why did I take this job...now I won't starve to death, but neither will this thing!" Snopy put his hand on the hilt of his blade, slowly backing away and testing for escape routes. Whatever this thing was, it would probably kill him if he didn't think of something. The thing was large, and honestly it could probably kill him. It stood on four legs, but it appeared like it could stand only on its hind legs if it wanted. The thing let out a loud roar that shook the entire forest. A frightened little "eeh" could be heard from Snopy's felli as it hid behind a tree, poor thing scared to death.

The creature, as it seemed like it could, stood up on its hind legs and let out an even louder roar, before slamming back down to the ground. As the ground shook the creature ran forward and raised up its left foot, prepared to slice Snopy into pieces with its blade-like claws. Snopy dove to the side in an effort to dodge, landing on the ground a few feet to the right. It was obvious Snopy wasn't the most eloquent of combatants, he didn't land on his feet when he dodged. Snopy tried his best to lift himself to his feet when the creature spun around and tried to slam Snopy with its tail. Snopy couldn't react to this quick enough how ever, and it slammed him into a tree. "Ow." The "ow" was oddly half hearted, but mostly because he was used to being knocked around. The creature then raised its long tail into the air, seemingly in an attempt to crush Snopy. Snopy quickly shook himself back to attention and ducked to the side, the tail slamming into the tree so hard that the tree fell over. Snopy immediately put his hand to the hilt of Yasumasa and drew the blade. On one swift motion he left a wide cut on the creatures tail, blood gushing out. Admittedly the ease of the cut was more the quality of the blade than the skill of the wielder, but Snopy wasn't complaining. The creature screamed in pain, turning around and swiping at Snopy, forcing him to dive back, but his back ended up to another tree. The creature went in for another swipe, and unfortunately the disorientation of it all made Snopy slow to dodge, as he dove to the side the creature's claws dug into his right arm. He gritted his teeth as he landed to the side and clutched his injured arm. His sword was still in his grip, but odds were he wouldn't swing it well anymore, not that he could in the first place. "When I said I needed the money for food...I didn't mean to become food." Snopy sighed, and braced for the inevitable. The finishing blow. He was prepared to die, but he most certainly didn't want to.

Unfortunately for both parties, Sango had taken a little bit of a wrong turn before she hit the clearing. She missed it by a mere five feet and kept running. She continued for a while until she heard a familiar sound, the snarl of a large cat. "Kilala!" Sango saw her feline friend running towards her and knew that Kilala was aware of something within these woods. Upon reflex, as Kilala was running, Sango reached out and grabbed a thick patch of the main around Kilala's neck. This didn't hurt Kilala of course, and Sango used this to flip herself over and land lightly on Kilala's back. "You know where's it's at, don't you?" she asked and Kilala let out a positive snarl that Sango could understand to her own degree. Sango noticed that they were heading back in a similar direction that they had just come. Upon getting a familiar warning from Kilala, Sango hopped off of her friends back and hurried off at another angle. She watched Kilala charge forward and observed through the trees when her eyes caught sight of something. "Shit, that guy is there!" she thought as Kilala made her appearance into the clearing and prevented the final blow by jumping on the back of this creature. The two wrestled around a bit until Kilala was able to turn the monsters attention away from the injured man.

"A Taerick..." Sango narrowed her eyes, now understanding why this job was asked for without any real description of what she was hunting. If she had known, she would have brought someone along with her to aid in this fight, no matter how much she was against it. Kilala was suddenly knocked back towards the injured man, but her feline instinct took over and she landed a foot in front of him on her feet. The Taerick, obviously angry at this battle, decided to reveal his full size and stood up on his back legs. He reached a good fifteen foot, his head looking down at Kilala and the man like they were bugs to squash. Kilala did not move. She stood her ground, growling at the Taerick as it came closer. The Feline was smart. She knew she could not win, but she was not going to move to allow this monster to harm the man behind her. Sango took this chance to ready her Hiraikotsu and took a deep breath. "HIRAIKOTSU!" she yelled to distract her enemy and it did work. She through this extremely heavy weapon like it was nothing, causing it to chop through a few trees and slam into the Taerick before it realized what happened. The Taerick was actually knocked off it's feet and fell a few feet away. Sango came into the clearing as a whirling sound began coming closer. She raised her hand and caught the large boomerang-like weapon, the force causing her to slide back three feet.

He should have been dead, but something distracted the monster.  It started to flail a bit, until it finally stopped caring about Snopy's presence, at least for the moment.  The monster shook until finally something came flying off it's back.  It looked like...some kind of large cat?  It came flying back towards him and landed a foot in front of him.  Definitely a large feline.  This thing had saved him apparently.  The Taerick was not pleased though, and it decided to stand up on its hind legs.  This thing is huge.  Snopy thought as he made his way back to his feet.  The thing looked kind of mad.  The cat...was growling at the monster.  Didn't this thing know that a Taerick would squash it?  "You crazy, that thing'll squash you like a bug."  He had no idea if this thing understood human speech, but he figured he'd try.  The Taerick raised up it's large weapon-like arms as if it was about to smash both of them where they stood.  "Fuck."  Suddenly he heard someone call out some kind of name.  A whirling sound was heard, and before he knew it the Taerick was flying back.  He looked on in amazement.  Turning his head, he saw the large boomerang-like weapon arrive in the hands of a young woman.  "I suppose my luck hasn't completely run dry."  He looked on, whomever this woman was...she stood a far better chance against this monster than he did.  A Taerick though didn't seem like something to go down easily from blunt force trauma.  Blunt force was good at breaking through armor, but generally skin was best penetrated with sharp objects.  Unfortunately, Snopy didn't have the skill to simply slice this thing to pieces.  If this thing had its attention locked onto him, he wouldn't be getting very far.  He scratched his head, he was not fighter.  Still, with an ample distraction and proper timing,  he could probably slit this beast's throat, it sure would make this woman's fight a lot easier.  He was injured though, so his precision would be hindered.  

"Screw it, if I die here then whatever, but running is out of the question."  Snopy looked over to the boomerang wielding woman.  "This thing's outer layer is a thick layer of skin, defeating it with a weapon like that would likely be a hard fight." Snopy mustered up his strength and took his blade into his hand and raised it into the air, gripping it with both hands so that the hilt was at the upper left of his forehead and pointed out.  "I'm no fighter...but if you can distract that thing and disorient it, I don't think it'd be hard for me to run it through, with this blade...one good hit is all I need. Just give me the opening, and I'll find my mark."  Considering everything, she'd probably look at him in disbelief.  Still, he had already readied himself for death, and with his injuries fleeing wouldn't get him anywhere fast. He might not have been the best fighter, but fighting an incapacitated or disoriented foe and getting one good strike in was something he could do.  "I should still have enough in me for one good shot, consider it repayment for getting this thing off my back, its about all I can do." Snopy was crazy, but he was smart. And while he didn't trust this woman fully, he still his sense of morality. This woman had saved his life, so he may as well do what little he could to make her life easier. If it had been the other way around, he would have done the same thing she did anyway.

"With a weapon like what?" Sango blinked a few times in confusion, momentarily not realizing he meant her Hiraikotsu, "Oh! No, this can cut through him if I need it to... I just have to get the correct angle. You fight?" Sango got her answer. He wasn't a fighter. "Are you crazy!? If you want to get yourself killed, fine, but not on my watch." Sango turned to watch the Taerick as it began rising from the floor again. Sango readied herself, glancing back towards this guy as he began speaking again. "Look, I don't know what you're doing out here, but I doubt you want to die." Sango told him, her eye shifting back towards the now fully standing beast, "I don't need to be paid for helping you. If I had, I would have charged you for the snake back there, but I'm not. At least with this guy you have a seventy percent chance of living, so make sure you take advantage of that. Some people aren't so lucky..." The Taerick suddenly jumped forward at them, swinging it's large claws down at them in a huge swoop. Sango brought the large boomerang forward, holding it up long ways across the attack, so the entire thing would scrap along the weapon. The force of the attack was great, causing Sango to be pushed slightly down into the dirt. Unfortunately, this Taerick was not going to stop attacking. He kept attacking the weapon, as if he hoped it would soon break and he could get to Sango and the man behind it.

Snarl!! Kilala took this chance to jump back onto the back of the Taerick, using her large size to pushed the Taerick off it's balance. Because of this, the Taerick stopped attacking, so Sango took her chance as well. She swung the Hiraikotsu downwards in a swoop, coming to the back of the Taerick's legs. Jumping off to the side, Sango raised her Hiraikotsu and began swinging it down towards the Taerick's chest, but the Taerick retaliated. It used it's tail to wrap around Kilala and quite strongly threw the large animal towards Sango. Sango's eyes widened, knowing this was going to hurt like hell. Kilala hit Sango and the two began flying back towards a tree, but Kilala reacted quickly and transformed back into her small self mid air. Sango hit the tree and this small house cat sized two tailed cutie landed gracefully in her lap. "N-Nice... job... Kilala." Sango said, one eye closed as she winced in pain. It wasn't every day that you had lion sized beast thrown at you from merely five foot away. The Taerick had it's attention on her as she pushed herself to her feet, wincing as she felt pain in her side while Kilala hopped to the ground. She lifted her Hiraikotsu and readied herself for the Taerick's attack as it let out a menacing yell and began to charge Sango while running on all fours.

Snopy raised an eyebrow at the thought of that thing cutting through the beast. Still, she stood a far better chance than he did, so who was he to question it. Of course the moment he pointed out he wasn't a fighter she scoffed at him getting involved. She said if he wanted to get himself killed, it wouldn't be happening with her around. Snopy lowered his blade. "Crazy isn't the right word for it." Of course then she went backwards and said she doubted he wanted to die."Bu-" Snopy almost spoke up on the contradiction, but he stopped himself. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Then she went on about not needing pay, in response to his repayment comment. "Well even if you did charge me, I don't have much to give." Snopy said with a shrug. He merely observed as the thing launched its onslaught. He winced a bit as he watched this thing attack, if that boomerang broke she'd have been reduced to a pile of goop and bones. The fact that it wasn't breaking did make him believe her more when she said it could cut through him, if it could withstand that assault it wasn't that crazy of an idea. Suddenly the large feline pounced on top of the Taerick. In the ensuing battle, it got thrown and both it and the woman slammed into a tree. Snopy's eyes widened. Well, that woman was in trouble. Shit it looks like I have to do something...but it is distracted, this is my chance. Snopy took off as he bolted towards the Taerick. Just as he got close the creature got on all fours. This gives me an idea.

Just before the Taerick started charging, he jumped and landed on the creature's tail. The creature felt it and moved a bit, flinging Snopy a bit and causing him to land on its back. The Taerick stopped mid charge and stood up on its hind legs, letting out a roar. Snopy used his free hand to grip the fur-like tuft on its back. He placed the hilt of his sword in his mouth and began to climb using both hands. Once he got high enough he tightly gripped the beast with his right hand, and brought his left hand to the hilt of Yasumasa. He held the blade in the air, readying a swing, as the creature shook trying to shake him loose. It looked like a mix of a bull rider and someone planning to ride the bull into glorious battle. Still, Snopy wanted to make this quick, there was no way he could keep his grip for too long. He found a lull in the creatures movement, which was his chance. With the creature not moving as much, he took aim and with one nice swing he managed to open up a cut on the back of the creature. He then took his blade and jammed it into the Taerick behind the neck. He missed any vital locations, but this caused the creature to screech in pain and buck. Snopy gripped his blade as it dislodged from the sheer force and both he and his weapon were sent flying off of the beast. Snopy missed a tree this time, and tumbled on the ground until the momentum was lost. The creature had its attention turned back to him. "If there was ever a time for that weapon to find its mark, I think now would be the time!" He called out to the woman who hopefully had reoriented during Snopy's little offensive.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? DON'T THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY FOR ME!!!" she screamed at him, her eyes wide as she watched this blond haired man come to her rescue. He had every chance to get away. Why was he staying!? Sango watched the scene before her, doing her best to force herself into regaining her composure. Suddenly, after a cut to the beasts back, the man was luckily thrown off. The Taerick once again turned it's attention to the man. "Shit." she thought as she darted forward and slightly to the right of the Taerick. It wasn't facing her and was about to charge, so she needed a good angle to make sure she did not hit the man at the same time. The Taerick roared a heart shaking roar and charged forward. Sango did not hesitate. "Hiraikotsu!" She yelled like she had before as she brought her arm back and with all of the force of her body, swung it forward, releasing the large boomerang with a massive amount of strength. Because of the weapons enchantments, this normally heavy weapon was as light as a feather to Sango. Because of this, it was thrown with a massive amount of strength and at the perfect angle. The weapon spun at an extremely high speed, created a saw like effect and sliced through the Taerick like a knife through butter. After it sliced through the beast, the weapon actually flew even farther, easily slicing and smashing through trees, causing a decent portion of the forest to fall. As it did like a boomerang does and turned around, Sango took a step forward and caught it. The force of the weapon dragging her back about five feet, her feet sliding along the ground, creating a small dust cloud.

"Are you all right?" Sango stood up straight, holding her Hiraikotsu up over her shoulder. She stepped over to the young man and looked up and down his form, making sure he was not badly injured. Once she did that, she sighed and shook her head. "Thank goodness... That's all over." she would say with a relieved don't, "Look... I didn't mean to be so insulting before. I would just prefer it if innocent people did not get hurt on my missions. This was something that I was being paid to do to protect those who walked along this path. There was no need for someone to get hurt in the process." A small meow like sound came from behind and Sango looked to see the small Kilala staring up at her. "Right... Where is your little friend? The Felli that was traveling with you?" Sango turned back to him and asked, "I did not see it when I entered the area." Sango looked around, trying to spot the little thing...

The woman screamed at him for trying to "throw his life away."  If he did throw it away it isn't like he was losing much anyway, just a lot of bad luck and a Felli.  Suddenly, just as the Taerick went to end his life it just kinda fell in half.  That thing most certainly wasn't going to survive being chopped in half.  He pushed himself into a sitting position.  He chuckled.  You coulda done that sooner.  He thought to himself as the woman walked over to him.  She looked him over, likely looking at the claw wound on Snopy's right arm.  Next thing he knew she was apologizing to him for sounding insulting.  Snopy just shook his head.  "Nothing I'm not used to."  Snopy pushed himself to his feet.  Figured she was getting paid to protect people.  "Either way, thanks for the save."  Snopy was feeling a bit uneasy, but he spoke and acted in a friendly manner.  When the woman mentioned his Felli, he began to look left and right.  "Oh crap."  He began to whistle.  "Ahri, where are you girl?"  He whistled a bit more when there was a rustling in some of the bushes.  Suddenly a tiny Felli came shooting out of the bushes and with a cute little "eeh" it flew into his arms.  "There you are, you were scared weren't you?"  The creature let out another cute little "eeh" as it got settled in his arms.  "Well it is a good thing we weren't in a particularly toxic area of the Poisoned Weald.  Otherwise the trees probably would've killed us."  Snopy looked back up to the woman.  "I haven't properly introduced myself.  I'm Snopy, and this little thing in my arms is Ahri."  Despite how he kept his distance from people, he was a gentle person at heart.  The way he was with his Felli was proof enough of that.  Of course, now that she wasn't saving his life, his wariness had definitely returned.  So far she had shown herself as a good person, so he wasn't going to try and make a B-line for the exit.  He was just going to keep his distance on a personal level.  Anytime he let himself get close to someone it bit him in the ass, so he was just going to take the safe route.  Besides, odds were they'd only be around each other for a short time before being on their way.  Not like some deep heartwarming bond could form that quickly.  "I have to say, you surprised me.  That thing sliced right through that monster."

"No problem. Thank you for your help too." Sango said and smiled kindly to him before asking about his pet. He apparently lost sight of her as well, but when the little thing hurried out of the bushes and over to him, it was obvious that she was alright. "She sticks near you. Good girl." Sango said with a smile, knowing the feeling of a loyal pet. At that moment, Kilala's small form jumped up to her left shoulder and let out a high pitched meow that wasn't too different than a normal cat. "Thanks for your help, Kilala." Sango pet the top of the two tailed felines head and looked back to Snopy. "I'm Sango, and you're right about that, but I have a mask that allows me to move through the area without it." Sango pat a small iron mask that hung from her hip for when she needed it, "If you don't have any protection, it's probably best for us to get out of here." Sango looked to Kilala and the little feline hopped onto the ground. A burst of vibrant flame surrounded the small cat and suddenly got bigger. When the flames dispersed, the large form of Kilala was standing there. Sango strapped her Hiraikotsu around her body to keep it to her back and hopped onto Kilala's back. "It'll be safer if we take Kilala. I've done my job here and we don't want to run into any more trouble. I can give you a lift to wherever you need." Sango held out a hand to invited him onto Kilala's back, "And thanks. The Hiraikotsu is actually an extremely powerful weapon passed down from my grandfather. I'm awfully proud of it."

If Snopy chose to hop on Kilala along with Sango, the large feline would charge forward through a few trees until she hit an opening and suddenly jump into the air. From there, she would begin to fly. "Were you out here alone or something? So where do you need me to take you?" Sango would ask and then take him to where he needed to go. If he chose to walk, Sango would reluctantly have Kilala walk along side him until they arrived somewhere that she would know that he was safe or in familiar territory.

The woman thanked him back for his help, though he did question if she was genuinely thankful or just saying it to be polite, after all he did do exactly what she supposedly didn't want him to do.  Still, he took it as a simple thank you and treated it as such.  When Ahri jumped into his arms, the woman commented on her staying near him.  He chose not to say anything to her about it, but Ahri was the only thing that seemed to care for him.  She did seem to genuinely smile at it, probably because she knew the feeling of having a pet like her.  That much he did believe.  The animal that this woman had combated the Taerick with hopped up onto her shoulder and let out a meow.  It went from its large size to that tiny little thing.  "To think, that little thing was frightening a few minutes ago.  Now its just cute."  Well this wasn't strange at all, he was forming some small connection with someone based off the fact they both had a pet.  Granted this woman's pet could turn into a giant dangerous sabre cat-like beast and all Snopy's could do is chase its tail in a circle while making cute sounds.  Granted he'd watch her do that any day, it was adorable.  After giving his name the woman introduced herself as Sango.  That woman explained that the mask she had allowed her to move through the area without being poisoned.  Snopy nodded when she mentioned they should get out of there.  "Yeah, a slow painful poison induced death is not something I am looking forward to."  Snopy watched, Ahri in his hands, as the cat jumped on the ground and transformed into the larger more beastly form.  Sango then jumped up on the cat and told him that she could give him a lift.  Snopy actually laughed a little.  "You say that as if riding giant cats for transportation is normal."  

Snopy shrugged, why the hell not.  He just had a close encounter with a Taerick, if he was going to play it risky he may as well keep it up.  As he hopped onto the back of the feline she explained what the weapon was.  "Huh, well that's funny."  Snopy paused for a moment, contemplating if he should really say this much.  He decided that if she has a weapon like that herself, she probably won't be interested in his blade if she was the type to try and steal it.  Besides, it was firmly strapped to his hilt and he could jump off and make a break for it if she tried to steal it.  "This sword was my great grandfather's.  My father told me that a legendary blacksmith created it, and its tempering is the best a blade can get.  Its why I was able to slice into that beast through its skin so easily.  I'm not exactly the epitome of physical strength."  He was a little surprised he gave that information out, but it wasn't that personal of a detail in his head, and personal details are what he was afraid to give out.  Of course, if he truly understood the meaning behind his blade he would realize that is an immensely personal weapon.  As Kilala charged forward, Snopy kept Ahri in one arm and suddenly used his other to clutch onto Sango from behind.  This wasn't on purpose, it was a reflex from the movement.  He didn't know how to ride a horse, let alone a giant cat.  After a moment Snopy let go, but then the cat jumped into the air and started flying.  "Holy-!"  Once more, Snopy clutched onto Sango to keep himself from falling, this time with both hands while simultaneously cradling Ahri.  After another second Snopy realized what he did and loosened his grip and let go with one hand, though the other he couldn't bring away.  "Sorry about that...I just didn't expect this thing to fly, caught me off guard."  Snopy slowly and cautiously released his grip, but began to seriously lose his balance and nearly fell off before gripping back onto Sango and stabilizing himself without knocking her off balance., the best he could without gripping too hard or anything, only JUST enough to help him not fall to his death.  He sighed.  "Well this is embarrassing..."  Sango finally asked what he was doing out here.  "I'm with a caravan, I'm meant to do some scouting and combat against some less dangerous creatures, wasn't exactly supposed to find a Taerick.  I really don't feel like going back yet, but since you're offering I suppose may as well take you up on the offer."  Snopy began to scan around, trying to figure out where the caravan was set up.  He had a good sense of direction, but from the sky it was actually harder to figure out where it was.  "My sense of direction is all messed up, I'm not entirely sure where the caravan is set up."

"Haha. Yeah. She can be frightening in her larger form. It'r probably more frightening to realize she's older than you and I combined." Sango said in reply to his comment towards Kilala. Sango asked him about giving him a ride, but he seemed hesitant. "Well no, I guess it isn't normal." Sango said in realization, "From what we've learned, Kilala is literally the only of her kind. There are other races, such as the Felli, who seem like they could be genetically related, but have never shown any signs of having powers like Kilala's. She's truly one of a kind." Sango looked towards Kilala with a truly loving look in her eyes. She cherished that girl, and would likely die for her if the time ever came. Not many people believed in dying for their pets, but with how much Kilala had done for her family and village over the decades, it's likely that they'd mourn her more than Sango herself, which is saying a lot. "Like the Hiraikotsu, she was passed down to me through my grandfather, who apparently got her from a powerful Arcanist when he was a child. At the time he was told that Kilala had been with her for ten years and had been found too. There is no way of telling how old Kilala is..." Sango's attention was caught by the mentioning of his sword and she looked to it. She assumed it must be special to him in some way if that was the case. "I had wondered about how easily you were able to cut it..." Sango blinked a few times, actualy quite impressed with the blade he held. "Physical strength comes with training. If you want it, you have to work for it." Sango told him before hopping on Kilala's back and holding her hand out to him.

Soon, the two were off flying on Kilala's back and Snopy was startled by it. Not only that, but it was obvious by his actions that he felt uncomfortable having to hold onto her to make sure he didn't fall off. "I am used to that by the way. I understand why, but you don't have to be embarrassed. I've given many rides to men and women over the years. It just comes with riding on Kilala's back." Sango sort of nuzzles her cheek into the back of Kilala's head, the large cat letting out what would sound like a growl, but to her was a purr. Sango happily smiled at Kilala before asking Snopy where exactly he needed to go. "Not sure, huh? Well you came from the East along that path over there." Sango told him and Kilala flew in that direction, "Does any of this seem familiar? If not, Kilala can likely sniff your people out." Sango looked around for some sort of sign of other people, such as a smoke from a campfire or some sort of light or movement that wasn't just trees.

Sango went on explaining a lot about Kilala.  How old she was, where she came from, and how she got her.  "Is that right...I hope that she doesn't end up getting even larger with age.  I think an Endellion sized feline would scare some people beyond belief."  Snopy wasn't exactly some kind of expert on the Endellion or anything, but he heard about it.  He wasn't sure if there was truth behind it or if it was just legends.  Still, Kilala at that size would be kind of ridiculous, how the hell would you keep something that size fed?  Upon explaining the strength of Yasumasa, Sango took it as a reasonable explanation for him being able to cut that thing.  She also commented on how physical strength had to be worked for.  "You try training when you have to spend 90% of your life running all over the place trying to find a way to earn enough for the next meal."  He kept the thought to himself, not any of her business.  That and he was afraid to give anyone information like that if they didn't need to know.  As they rode on the flying feline Sango tried to tell him there was nothing to be embarrassed about.  Considering the situation she was probably right, but still it wasn't a form of physical contact Snopy was exactly used to anymore.  From here Sango tried to help him figure out where he came from.  In the beginning, the universe was crea...too far.  Either way, Snopy looked around.  "So if I came from that path there, and I came from that direction..."  Snopy's mind and logical reasoning kicked into overdrive as he retraced every step.  At the end, Snopy came up with a direction and pointed towards the southeast.  Unknowingly, he pointed directly at the caravan itself.  "I came from somewhere around there then." Snopy looked down at his arm, it wasn't looking too pretty...was it...on its way to getting infected, this quickly? "If only they had some way of healing this arm of mine...I think it might be getting infected." Snopy shook his head. "Arcadia is one of the biggest manufacturers of medical supplies, and I picked a caravan that transported construction materials." Snopy looked back up at Sango. "You have anything you can do to help patch me up? My body is surprisingly resilient, so I don't think it'll take much for it to be on its way to healing, but if I don't do something before one of the outposts...I might be stuck in bed for at least a month once I reach a city." In all honesty he was going to be fine, it looked bad but it probably wasn't going to turn into an infection. Still, that is a chance he probably shouldn't risk if he doesn't have to. "If you can't do anything, I'd prefer you take me back to Arcadia...I don't trust my "companions" to not leave me behind or try and help me if something did happen." The people he had been traveling with weren't exactly upstanding citizens, and honestly they seemed to use him to do the hard work so they can be lazier, so he wouldn't feel guilty about simply leaving.

When he mentioned his wound, Sango looked back to see it. It didn't look too bad, so she figured he'd be okay, but it was probably best not to take any chances. "Back to Arcadia? I can do that... Though it'd take at least an three to four hours to get to any of the bigger cities." Sango told him and then smiled, "Alright, I'm taking you to Arcadia. Kilala... we're shifting, okay?" Kilala let out a low growl to signify that she was ready. "Snopy hold onto Ahri tightly." Sango told him and waited for him to do so. Once he did, Sango swung her left leg over Kilala's head until it looked like she was riding side saddle. She then gripped Kilala's hair enough to balance. "Now when I say, you need to scoot forward no Kilala's back, kay?" Sango said and began counting down, "On three! One... two... three!" Sango actually waited for him to start moving and then swung her left leg all the way back around until she was now sitting behind Snopy. The way she moved, and how quickly, prevented any chances of them falling off, which is why she was so confident when doing it. Now that she was sitting behind him, she reached around his wait and grabbed onto fur in front of him. "Alright, now lean forward and lower your head behind Kilala's." she told him. Once he did that, she'd lean forward as well.

"Alright Kilala! Give it your all!" she said and it was obvious she was getting excited. Kilala let out an excited snarl and her movements shifted. She began taking longer strides and within a couple of seconds, Kilala burst forward with a large amount of speed, actually reaching to about eighty miles an hour. Since she was flying straight, it wasn't too bad, nor was it a rough ride, but it wasn't something that people were used to. Sango was using herself as a seat belt of sorts, trying to keep Snopy and Ahri balanced. And the reason she asked them to lower themselves was to lessen the chance of bug splatter. "Kilala can't keep this up for too long, maybe twenty minutes, but it'll shorten the trip by at least two hours..." Sango said, sort of shouting to get over the sound of wind slapping against their ears. Soon, and in Arcadia, they would land and Kilala would immediately morph back into her small form. "Nice job Kilala." Sango picked the little thing up and cradled her in her arms. Sango looked around and noticed a large lake, smiling when she realized where they were. "Colburn is in that direction." Sango said, pointing east, "You ready? If we don't stop, we'll make it there in an hour, maybe an hour and a half."

When Snopy brought up the wound, Sango agree'd to take him back to Arcadia.  That was a relief, a wound received in a place named the poisoned weald couldn't have been a good thing.  She told Snopy to hold Ahri tightly, which he in turn did.  This forced him to take his one hand off of Sango whom he had been using to balance, so he got a little shaky, but kept his balance best he could.  He most certainly didn't want to plummet and splatter on the ground.  He was then told to move forward on Kilala's back the moment she said to.  "Wait, what do you-"  "One"  "HOLD ON, what are you-" "Two"  ""I'm serious!  What the hell are you-  "Three"  "Oh shit!""  As her count hit 3 he immediately tried to do what she said to do as she somehow swung around and landed behind him.  Snopy stared forward with wide eyes at what had just happened.  "I could have had a bit more warning on what you were planning to do!  For a second I thought I somehow knocked you off."  That was honestly the least of his problems, but he wasn't dead so he chose not to point out the fact that the lack of information could have cause he himself to plummet to his death.  Next thing she did was put her hands around his waist and grab the fur in front of him.  Snopy blinked a few times, this was a little closer than he had been to people recently.  She was only holding the fur in front of him, but the orientation of her arms was just a LITTLE closer than he was used to.  He did as he was told next and leaned down forward, when suddenly, with a simple command, Kilala shot forwards.  Sango had almost seemed like she was really enjoying this, and Snopy wondered if it was the ride or his confusion that was causing it.  "This is a bit fast for comfort."  Snopy gripped Ahri tightly while also gripping Kilala so he didn't die.  

He just stayed silent for awhile and hoped he didn't fall to his death.  Even as Sango explained  what was going on, he just made what confirming gestures he could muster without dying.  A few startled and scared squeaks and eeh's could be heard coming from Ahri through all of this.  Eventually, the sound of wind stopped.  Things were silent, besides the ringing in his ears and a quick little noise that came from Ahri.  He felt Sango's hands remove themselves from around his waist, and as he looked up he saw they were on the ground.  Immediately, and with an agility that implied he didn't once lost his balance he jumped off of Kilala's back and landed on his feet.  "Never before have I loved the ground as much as I do now."  He let Ahri down, who ran in a circle for 5 seconds before jumping right back into his arms.  "You were as terrified as I was weren't you?"  All Ahri did in response was nuzzle into him.  Snopy turned to Sango, who had Kilala in her arms as well.  She informed Snopy of which way Colburn was and said it was about an hour away.  "That's good, someone there should know how to fix up this wound."  Snopy immediately started walking in the direction she pointed, waiting for her to come along before heading off into the distance.  "Only an hour huh?  We made some good time it seems."

There was a strange freedom about flying on Kilala's back. It wasn't something that Sango completely understood, but she felt it. Every time they flew freely, like they were now, Sango felt both excited and free. She had to fight the urge to raise her arms in the air, close her eyes, and enjoy the wind on her body. Of course, to most it wouldn't be very comfortable. The feeling of falling off wasn't the best, so she made sure to stay down and keep her arms around Snopy. This would help his comfort level enough not to freak out at every movement Kilala's body would make while flying. Soon, well... after some time, they landed and everything was pointed out. When Snopy began walking on, Sango looked back to Kilala and then back towards where they had come from. She was contemplating whether it would be best to return to the village who hire her on this mission. Snopy would be better on his own, right? It wouldn't bother him to travel alone? He didn't exactly seem like the type to want company anyway. Sango could tell how distant he was, but she also knew he wasn't the best of fighters and should likely have an escort back. Decisions, decisions.

"Hey, you don't seem like the type who wants company, ya know?" Sango walked up behind him as he walked and blinked a few times, "You alright if I just head out, or do you want someone along with you?" Sango stared curiously at him to get his answer. If he wished for her to travel with him, she would do so. If not, she would smile, wave, say a quick goodbye, and leave him to his own devices. She had her own things to do as well, and it wasn't often that one would just stop everything that they were doing to bring a stranger miles and miles out of their own way.

Snopy stopped as Sango came up from behind and commented on how he seems like he isn't the type who wants company.  Snopy kept a straight face, if only she fucking knew.  That was actually quite the opposite of what he felt, he wanted company.  The problem was he just didn't trust most people to give it to him.  She asked if she should head out or if he wanted her along.  She honestly had a lead in how much he trusted people.  Sure, he flew on Kilala out of necessity, but the fact that he went so far on that thing and survived built some small well of trust.  Honestly he wanted her along in a way, but he also didn't.  Even if he did decide to have her along, how the hell would he say it?  He hadn't exactly asked for someone to tag along with him in years.  He had his chance to leave, so would he?  "Oh, I know."  Snopy said abruptly, not confirming nor denying the claim.  This was Arcadian territory, he could go alone.  "This whole ordeal has left me shaken...I would appreciate a bit of an escort.  Of course, if you are busy you're free to walk away."  Snopy would wait to see how she would respond, and as she would escort him if he asked for it, the two of them began to head towards Colburn.  Snopy felt a little weird, consciously he had been perfectly prepared to walk alone, so why did he request the escort?  Could be common sense noting he wasn't completely safe yet, could be just him wanting company for a little longer deep down.  "I have to say, the fact that you'd go so far out of your way for me is surprising, since I take it you have no business in Colburn at the moment."  Snopy looked up at the sky.  "At least the weather is nice.  If you don't mind me asking...just where is it that you live?  You don't seem to be from Arcadia."

"Damn it..." she thought as she heard his answer. Of course he would appreciate an escort, why wouldn't he? He reminded her a little of her younger brother before the incident: kind, distant, weak, and the seeming lack of the ability to do anything on his own. Sango wasn't going to just leave him out there, and he likely knew that, so of course she continued walking along with him. "Alright then, let's get going." Sango said with a smile as she pat the top of Kilala's head, allowing the small feline-like animal to rest on her shoulder for some time, the strap from Sango's Hiraikotsu holding her in. Though she wasn't the happiest about it, Sango was going to keep her offer up and walk along with him. "Normally, I would not do this." Sango told him as they walked, "I just don't think it's right to not keep up with an offer you gave, you know? At that, you fought by my side, it really is the least I can do since you won't be receiving payment along side me. I guess I could check out some of the shops around Rydian, so... it might be worth while." As he gazed to the sky, Sango looked up to see if it was just a random thing or whether he was actually looking at something in particular. "I live in the South, to the west of Cieria." Sango told him and then everything seemed to go silent. It had been a long time since she traveled with anyone that wasn't Kilala. Kilala was a great companion, but she wasn't exactly someone to talk to. Now that there was a chance for conversation, Sango could only think of getting to their destination and not what the two of them could talk about. Because of that, she stayed silent and just looked around while walking along the path.

Sango didn't seem like she wanted to do this.  She was extremely kind and polite about it, but her choice of wording said otherwise.  "I just don't think it's right not to keep up with an offer you gave."  Snopy was smart enough to know that meant she was saying it merely out of politeness, and not because she really wanted to.  Snopy took a deep breath and thought about it.  She didn't want to go with him, and he didn't feel too comfortable around her (granted he felt comfortable around no one).  Besides, she just said Cieria.  Cieria was a really long distance from here.  She obviously would want to go home, and they were currently walking in the opposite direction of that location.  "Cieria?  You live on the other side of the damned world."  Snopy shook his head.  "Go, I can tell you want to go home.  I only asked you to come along just in case, odds are I'll be fine.  We're going in completely opposite directions, you lose at least two hours if you come with me."  Snopy started to walk ahead of Sango and raised his hand in the air in a gesture that was similar to a goodbye.  "It was nice meeting you, I probably won't be seeing you again considering where you live, but if we do then I'll see you again someday.  Thanks for saving me."  Snopy turned around and smiled, it was actually fairly genuine, though that was because she was the nicest person she met in a long time.  He didn't fully trust her honestly, but the small amount of trust he developed for her was enough for now.  After all, it was better than what he was used to.  Most people looked down on him, and even if Sango did, which he was unsure of, she at least didn't do so as badly as others.  Turning back around, he began his walk to the city.  It was about an hour away, so it'd be a bit longer before he returned to civilization.

"Are you sure?" Sango asked. Well, that was a little shocking. Sango stopped walking when he told her to go on home and watched him for a moment. Now that she thought about it, her wording was a little off, so it wasn't too surprising that he had hinted on her not wanting to come. She had to return to the village who hired her and then head back home, so she would lose a lot of time by going with him. It was nice to know he understood that. Sango smiled softly and nodded to him as he went on. "Alright, stay safe... and thanks." Sango watched him continue on walking for a few moments before she glanced down to Kilala. "One more destination and we can finally head home, girl." Sango said with a relieved sigh, "It'll be nice to finally be able to relax in our own bed." Kilala let out a comfortable meow. Sango smiled when she looked back up to Snopy who then thanked her and waved. "It was nice to meet you as well. See you later, if we ever meet again." Sango said to him and then finally turned to walk away. She began her way back in the same direction in which they came, back to the village she had been hired by. Though their meeting was short and they knew next to nothing about one another, Sango had a feeling they would run into each other again. For now, she made her way home with Kilala on her shoulder.

~Thread Closed