Feb 28, 2022 14:31:44 GMT -5
Post by Anastasia on Feb 28, 2022 14:31:44 GMT -5
Power level: 14,759
Heavy Weights: Equipped
Weighted Power Level: 3,689
Monster Hunter Ultimate
You happen to run into a monster! Whether you were hunting it, it was hunting you, or you both just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't matter. One of you isn't leaving this fight alive!
+20% PL gains, +10% Zeni gains
Chance to carve off materials from the monster to make a set of clothes items!
15 or above/D20
Anastasia trudged through the under brush of the jungle. Brute had told her of a place that supposedly had a lot of wild animals that were a danger to the average person. He had used to travel the area and fight many wild creatures like rampaging boars and giant dinosaurs. He recounted the time that he had punched a pterodactyl in the face with such furious passion, Anastasia had been tempted to call him out on it being just a story. She didn't have doubts that Brute had faced such creatures, but she doubted it had been inside a hollow mountain, while he was shirtless, his rippling physique shimmering with sweat, rescuing a baby.
"Mrowr?"
Anastasia paused in her march, and looked about for the sound that she had heard. Or had she? It had been so quiet and she had been lost in thought-
"Mrrrr."
Anastasia felt a nudge against her leg. She looked down to see a ragged little bundle of red hair and wide blue eyes staring up at her. It was a cat, possibly even a kitten, judging by it's proportions. It stood at her knee, larger than the average cat, possibly some sort of wild cat?
Anastasia shook her head, partly in amazement that the kitten had found the courage to approach her, but mostly in sadness. The kitten was injured, with a ragged wound along it's left hind quarter.
"I'm sorry, little one. What happened to you?" she knelt down slowly, so as not to startle it. Even though the kitten had approached her, it was still a skittish wild animal. The kitten blinked, then leaned over and nudged the human girl's arm with it's nose. Anastasia's eyes softened. She reached a hand to stroke the kitten's head, but it jerked back, wanting to sniff her fingers instead. It nipped playfully at Anastasia's index finger.
Anastasia pulled her hand back and eyed the kitten in surprise. 'Well, aren't you brazen?' she thought to herself with an arched eyebrow. The kitten nipped at her fingers again, and raised a paw to bat at her hand innocently. Anastasia wiggled her fingers playfully, enticing the kitten to bat at her hand and fingers even more.
The kitten stopped mid bat, and froze. It's eyes went wide and wild, it's slender back arched, it's red hair stood on end, and it hissed violently. Anastasia blinked in surprise as she saw the surge of terror consume the little thing, and she held her hands up placatingly, "Easy ther-"
Then she sensed it. It wasn't necessarily like sensing a power level, but it wasn't any one thing like a sound or scent. It was just a suffocating heavy feeling, slowly building... Something malevolent...
With blinding speed, Ana turned to see a huge monster stepping through the woods with a slow feline gait. Anastasia swiftly maneuvered herself between the monster and the kitten, who was still hissing. The beast's lithe movements, wicked claws, and vaguely feline face and muzzle were where the similarities between it and a typical cat ended.
This giant creature was predominantly purple in color with red accents. Instead of the fur typical of cats, it was instead covered in a more armor like plating and fierce yellowish spikes. There were two long spikes extending from it's forearms, and a bevy of them attached to it's tale. From it's brow came overlapping spike-like horns that looked like layers of thorns. It even had a malevolent purple glow to it not unlike ki or energy. It growled a low and base-y growl from deep in it's chest that almost vibrated through Anastasia's very bones.
'Demon'... she thought, then shook the idea away. Demons didn't exist... but the malevolence that this monster exuded certainly made her second guess that notion. Anastasia looked back over her shoulder at the little red kitten, an innocent thing with a series of gashes along his side and leg.
The monster bared its teeth, then lifted a huge paw and extended its needle-sharp claws.
Why was this monster after this kitten? Something that was worth little more than a morsel of food? Why attack it like this? She had no idea, and couldn't find out. Who was she to know the ways of beasts? All she did know is herself, and she knew that she couldn't let this innocent life be snuffed out. Perhaps that was nature, and it was meant to be the kitten's time. But Anastasia was here, and she wasn't going to turn away.
And that was it. The time for hesitation was through. Now it was time to act. Anastasia attacked.
The monster was not expecting this from her, it was accustomed to everything being intimidated by it's presence and strength. That, combined with the speed and strength of Anastasia's attack caught it off guard. Anastasia was little more than a blur of movement, and the monster lashed out with its claws. connecting with nothing, yet shredding the trees behind where Anastasia had been a moment ago. It twisted, trying to avoid the flurry of ki blasts that landed on its head and flanks, yowling in pain, to no avail. The monster fell on its side under the barrage, dark ki flickering from it's numerous wounds.
Anastasia paused to see if her attack had been fierce enough to deter the monster, and if it would flee. She wanted to avoid killing if she could. It was merely a beast, no matter how malevolent it seemed, and she didn't want to kill it with out undue reason.
The monster pushed itself to its feet, growling low. The creature measured Anastasia with wary eyes, and just when Anastasia hoped it might turn and flee, it pounced and slashed at her with outstretched claws. Anastasia dodged out of the way of the shredding swipe of the monster's claws that roe up deep gouges in the ground behind her. The creature was fast, and would not be caught off guard again.
Anastasia jumped and dodged as the beast came at her with monstrous speed, tearing up the landscape with furious clawing motions, reading Anastasia's movements with increasingly surprising accuracy. Ana gritted her teeth against a hiss of pain. She didn't stop moving to see the shredded edges of the sleeve on her left arm flutter to the ground. She needed to return to the offensive.
Anastasia focused on created a small, but powerful ball of charged ki in the palm of her hand. She turned mid-air leap to face the monster's attack. The beast flew at her, roaring, eyes glowing. But instead of dodging, Anastasia held up her hand and released the ki blast at the monster, just as it swiped it's claws in her direction. The blast hit the monster dead on. Anastasia twisted in the air, but not far enough, and she felt the sharp pain of flesh and muscle shredding down to the bone...
The monster flew backwards smack into a very solid tree, shattering the trunk, toppling it. It collapsed to the ground among the splinters of wood, twitching silently as teh energy from the tiny ki blast arced over it's large form.
Ana landed on her feet, blood seeping from four perfectly parallel gashes in her right forearm. A millisecond slower, and she would have lost her arm completely. Anastasia closed her eyes briefly, fighting back the pain. She shook her head and looked around for the red kitten, to see if it had been harmed in the conflict. The entire area was a mess of torn up earth and wood. Tree trunks were shredded into thin ribbons of paper in some places due to the monster's fierce claw attacks. Anastasia felt a cold lump form deep in her belly. It seemed unlikely that the kitten would have managed to escape all this unsca-
"Mreeoww?"
Ana turned her head towards the noise and floated to a small pile of rubble. Curled up in a ball in a sheltered alcove of two shattered boulder pieces was the little kitten. Anastasia let out the breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding.
"Hello there..." she knelt, extending her one good arm gently to the kitten, "I'm glad you're okay..."
A prickle of heat was the only warning Anastasia had before the creature hissed and a flash of black ki launched from it to her. She almost dodged, but realized it would expose the kitten. Instead she hunkered down to protect the kitten's little hideaway, and drew her own ki around herself to bolster her self against the monster's attack. The attack hit her, staggering her with it's strength. The black energy burned at her skin, filling her nose with the smell of her own flesh cooking.
The monster stood up from it's prone position where it had fallen, the armor plating on its body shifted, standing almost on end. Anastasia stood tense and ready, focusing above the pain shooting through the nerves of her ki-burned skin. A low snarl of unearthly fury emanated from the monster's throat as it glared her down, it's nose twitching at the scent of her fresh blood and burned flesh.
Ana shifted her weight, and the beast pounced. They met in a blur of speed and a clash of terrific power, Anastasia just barely able to deflect the monster away from it's trajectory. She bounded back, circling to the side to continue drawing it's focus to her, and not the kitten hidden in the rubble. The monster's spiked tail lashed in anger. It covered it's self with another layer of burning ki to turn it's very body into a burning weapon should she try to deflect it again and launched it's self at her once more.
Anastasia jumped in a blur of speed, flipping up and over the monster's claws and the tearing destruction of their wake. Anastasia peppered the beast with rapid fire ki blasts, unable to strike it physically, and not having the time to charge a stronger attack, The beast roared and turned to meet her attack with unbridled fury.
Anastasia twisted as the monster came at her, feeling a seering pain scorch across her thigh as she barely managed to avoid another rake of it's sharp claws. Both her arm and her leg was now shredded with deep parallel gashes, rendering them almost useless. She couldn't keep this up. Each of the monster's blows were deadly leaving her with no room for any margin of error. Meanwhile her attacks barely seemed to penetrate it's armor plating. She wasn't sure if she could create that same stunning blast again.
Think... think Anastasia!
She needed to hit it with something more powerful. She needed to charge up a proper Gunshot blast. Anastasia clenched her fist, charging up her ki desperately. The beast flicked a paw in her direction and Ana gasped letting go of her ki attack and trying to dodge out of the way. Searing pain lanced through the shoulder of the same arm that it had torn through previously and she was flung back several feet from the force of the blow. She crashed against a tree, smacking her head back on the bark, stars dancing in her eyes. Anastasia bounced off the tree and fell face first into the dirt.
Anastasia groggily lifted her head, ignoring the pain in her leg and her thoroughly ruined arm. The beasts pupil's narrowed as it focused intently on her, and it prowled forward slowly. It took obvious note of her injuries and with the beastial instinct of a predator, recognized injured prey. It could take it's time... Anastasia gritted her teeth, biting back a hiss of pain as she tried to push herself to get up... But her arms gave out and she fell flat to the floor again. She was losing so much blood...
So... dizzy...
A roaring in her ears. Not the beast. A different roar. Distant. But no less terrifying. A scream of shrapnel, gun fire, ki blasts, pain, agony, and so much more. Anastasia clenched her eyes tight. She was scared. So scared. Where were her mom and dad? An explosion went off near her, and she was thrown from her feet to the ground. Anastasia curled up in a ball. She was 8 again. She was wearing those fatigues that just draped on her. They were never meant to be worn by some one so small.
Why did they put her here? She was just a kid. How was she supposed to fight? With trembling fingers she found the knife sheathed at her belt and the little energy pistol as well. They looked like toys in her hands, not killing tools. She swallowed hard and looked up through the smoke and debris around her. People were running. Some in the same clothes she was wearing. Some not.
Crunch.
A boot stepped in front of her face, blocking her view.
Ana looked up at the scowling face of her captain. What was his name? She couldn't remember. He was just The Captain. The man who screamed and "trained" them to be strong. How was this strong though? She was just scared and lost. She wasn't a soldier. She was just-
"Get up."
Anastasia trembled on the ground, staring up at The Captain wide eyed. She couldn't move for fear.
"Get up, or you're going to die here."
Ice water flooded her veins. She had no illusions that she wasn't going to die. But somehow the way he just said it so plainly made it real. Made it true. Irrefutable.
'I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.'
The words spun in a circle in her mind. A repeating mantra swirling again and again, consuming her every thought as she looked up at The Captain. He turned away from her, not willing to waste any more time on the child. Anastasia's heart leaped into her throat and she screamed, "No! Wait! Please!! I don't want to die!"
The Captain only paused for a moment, but he did not look back, "Then get up."
Get up.
Anastasia's ki flared around her body in an explosive wave. The rocks and debris around her blasted up by the pressure of it. She activated her Adrenaline Rush, figuratively and literally. Her heart was thrumming in her ears. The blood dripping from her gaping wounds instead flew upward from the air pressure of her ki power.
Anastasia stood upright before the beast, crouched in a ready stand. Bright tendrils of ki emanated from every inch of her skin, blazing around her, lifting her hair and clothes in the updraft. She held her hands before her, fists clenched tight. Her eyes narrowed into icy resolve.
The beast only hesitated for a moment, then lashed out with not just it's claws, but with the same black power that it had used on her before.
Anastasia wasn't there.
Swiftly the beast turned, and leaped out of the way of Anastasia's shining ki blast, tearing right through the air where it had be standing only moments before. The beast's eyes were wide, but it merely bared it's fangs and roared at her, not so easily cowed.
It wasn't smart enough to know better.
Another blast. It dodged, but this time the heat grazed it's flank, leaving a scorch mark along it's armored plating. Retribution for the fires it had burned Ana with previously. Now Anastasia attacked in earnest. The beast dodged and twisted desperately, but it's great body was not meant to dodge. It was meant to attack. It was predator, not prey, and thus was unable to respond effectively in defense. Even so, it still managed to elude the bulk of Anastasia's attacks. If only just barely.
She refused to give it a chance to regain it's bearings so that it could mount an offensive attack. She kept the pressure up forcing it to simply dodge, and run, desperate to avoid being blown away by her attacks. She shifted, disappearing from it's view again briefly. Another blast from it's opposite flank. The creature leaped skyward, flaming ki a nova around it. It twisted and then came down at Anastasia like a falling mortar. She jumped out of the way and the ground exploded, the impact leaving a deep crater, with the beast in it's center.
It reared it's head back and roared a defiant challenge against Anastasia. Who was she to challenge it? Master of the wilds!
What was a master of the wilds to a survivor of war?
Anastasia smashed into the beast mid-roar. She grabbed it's two large fangs in her fists, forcing it's mouth to stay open. She pushed it back, leveraging her body over the beast's. The monster couldn't push back, only able to cringe, paws scrabbling against the crumbling dirt of the pit it had made for it's self. Spittle drooled from it's open maw, and the flames that surrounded it were starting to gutter out, overwhelmed by Ana's shining Ki.
Anastasia pushed down harder and harder, the beast only able to let out choking and gagging wheezes. There was a dull pop. The beast's eyes widened. It's jaw had been dislocated. And still Ana didn't let up on her furious press. It's wheezing and gagging turned into pained and frightened screeches. But the ice in Anastasia's eyes did not care.
With a dull and wet shredding sound, it's lower jaw was ripped completely free in a splatter of bright blood. It splashed all along Ana's torso, her damaged arm, and the rocky earth beneath them. Anastasia threw aside the monster's jaw, and it slumped to the ground, tongue lolling out without anything to support it. The beasts entire frame quaked in fear, pain, and just pure shock. The fire of it's ki was snuffed out with it's will to fight.
Anastasia knew that losing it's lower jaw wasn't enough to kill it. At least not right away. But it would not live for long with such a wound. If blood loss and infection didn't kill it, starvation from being unable to eat certainly would. She couldn't leave it like this. She refused to leave it like this. She could at least grant it one bit of kindness in ending it cleanly. Anastasia hadn't wanted it to come to this. But come to it, it had.
With out it's ki and fighting spirit to bolster it, the creature had no chance of resisting the ki infused swipe of her arm that lopped what remained of it's head from it's body. It tumbled to the ground anti-climatically. It's body rolling over in much the same way. Ana herself following not long after.
She fell against the creature's body, all the strength leaving her as well. Her ki flickering out and dying with the last of her will power. Was she dying as well? After everything?
She didn't want to die...
Dully, through the swimming black at the edge of her vision, through the fog over coming her senses, she could hear the soft mews of the kitten. Good. It had survived through the battle. Then it wasn't for nothing, then. She had managed to save one little thing.
Good.
Anastasia sluggishly swam up through the blackness of unconsciousness. It was a tremendous effort, taking almost all her will power just to open her eyes. Above was star light and the glow of a crescent moon shining down at her. She was laying in a very cushioned sleeping bag that was zipped up to her neck. She felt sore all over, her muscles over exerted from her desperate fight and pushing herself beyond her limits. But she felt the pain most acutely in her arm and leg. They seared with a bone deep agony that was nearly blinding.
'I'm alive?' She thought to herself in numb shock. Surely after all the blood she lost she must be dead. But if she were dead, then why was she in so much pain? Was she condemned to hell for everything she had done in the war? If so, why bless her with the sight of such a beautiful sky, and rest her in a comfortable sleeping bag? No, she must be alive. Impossibly, amazingly, incredibly, alive...
"Meow meoooow!!" the kitten appeared in her vision, standing over her and crying out happily. It immediately began purring, rumbling like a little motor boat.
"'lo... li'l one..." Anastasia barely managed to mumble out, even smiling hurt, but she smiled anyway.
"Ah, you're awake! Good!" a soft voice that seemed to have the same soft rumbling cadence as the kitten's purr spoke up. A second face appeared in Anastasia's view. This one was also furred, red, and cat-like. A more humanoid copy of the kitten. Animal-kin How odd.
"...How?" Ana asked.
"My guess? A little bit of luck and a lot of stubbornness," the animal-kin, who seemed to be a woman judging by her dress and voice, smiled kindly at Anastasia. She then turned to grab a small cup that had, surprisingly, a straw in it, and carefully lifted Ana's head so that she could drink from it, "Slowly now."
Ana drank gratefully but heeded the woman's advice and only took small sips as she did so. She stopped when she felt a cough coming and fought it down. She knew a cough right now would be more than a little excruciating. The woman laid her head back down gently.
"Thank you for saving my daughter, Filli," the woman said while rubbing the top of the kitten's head with obvious love and affection, "I don't know what I would do if I had lost her."
"D-daughter?" Anastasia asked in surprise, voice stronger after having a little bit of water to cool her throat.
"Yes," she laughed quietly, "Sometimes when we are young, we Kiinaman can take after our animal side's more. In a year or so, she'll begin walking upright, and speaking."
"I see..." Ana said, "Who are you?"
"Oh! Forgive me!" the cat woman raised a hand to her mouth in embarrassment, "How rude I didn't introduce myself. My name is Sillina."
"You saved my life. I think you're allowed to be rude... my name is Anastasia."
Sillina tossed her head back with a laugh, "You are making jokes! Good. You will be just fine."
Anastasia closed her eyes as a fresh wave of exhaustion overcame her. She felt a nudge against her cheek and heard a soft plaintive chirp, "mmrp?"
Anastasia opened one eye a crack to see the worried blue eyes of Filli mere inches from her own. It was obvious how worried she was, she hadn't thought Anastasia would wake up. Any time she closed her eyes, Filli worried that she wouldn't open them again. Ana felt touched by her concern, she gave the kitten, the child, a consoling smile.
"Now now, Filli," Sillina chastised, but with no genuine ire. She reached over and scooped up her daughter gently, pulling her away from Anastasia. The child had practically been standing on Anastasia's head. Sillina gently rubbed her daughter's head to sooth her, "You must let her rest. She won't get better with you hovering. Alright?"
Filli seemed to settle back in her mother's arms, accepting the head pets given, but she kept worried blue eyes on Anastasia's prone form. It seemed she felt responsible for the condition her hero was in. Her little tail twitched in mild annoyance, but she didn't try to escape her mother.
"Sillina?" Ana said, "What was that thing? Why was it attacking Filli?"
That was the mystery of this entire thing. Why was such a powerful monster chasing after a kitten that was barely a morsel worth expending all that energy for? Most predators wouldn't get so aggressive for a small amount of food. They need to conserve their energy at the end of the day, and if prey put up enough resistance, it wasn't worth burning the calories. But not only did Anastasia put up a fight that was more trouble than the kitten worth, but she was genuinely a dangerous threat for the beast. Even more obvious since Anastasia actually did manage to kill it. By all rights, it should have fled long ago.
"That..." Sillina paused. She seemed reluctant to discuss the matter, but knew that Anastasia deserved to know about the creature that nearly killed her, "That was an Olamangam."
"................. ok?" Ana asked, prompting further elaboration. The name alone meant nothing to her.
Sillina let loose a quiet snort of amusement but continued, "The Olamangam are rare beasts that hunt in these mountains. Stories say that they live over one thousand years, but of course who could prove such claims? Regardless, it is known they are long lived, partially due to their long periods of sleep."
"They hibernate? For how long?" Ana asked.
"Years, possibly decades," Sillina said.
That explains why they're so long lived then. Or at least partly. Anastasia thought to herself, but she didn't comment, not wanting to interrupt Sillina again, waiting instead for her to continue.
"Well, the Olamangam feed upon the meat of other beasts like any other predator, but they prefer our flesh," Sillina said, placing a hand over her chest, "We, the Kiinaman, have a sort of... magic or energy within us? It is similar to that energy that Filli said you wielded."
"Ki energy," Ana nodded.
"Quiet so. The power we have is similar to that. It is something that can only be found in my people, as far as we know. It is this energy that the Olamangam hunger for. Bye consuming the Kiinaman, it fuels the Olamangam's strength and longevity," Sillina said.
Anastasia frowned softly at this explanation. A specific type of energy that the monster wanted? She thought back to those ki flames that had burned her so thoroughly. She felt her flesh sting under the bandages she was wrapped in. That power was taken from these people and why it was so intent on attacking Filli? How much energy could one child have for a creature as powerful as that? Enough that it was willing to fight Anastasia to the death for Filli?
"How many of your people are there, Sillina?" Anastasia asked.
"Not many thanks to the Olamangam. My tribe has been weakened to but only a few hundred of us. We used to roam this entire land, but now we are just residents of this mountain."
"Hrm..." Anastasia closed her eyes, absorbing the knowledge. She'd never fought anything like Olamangam before. It had been a close thing, a damn close thing. She had no idea how someone like Filli and Sillina were supposed to resist something like that. Anastasia gently brushed her ki sense over Sillina, and she did not seem particularly powerful, but that meant little when there were others capable of suppressing their power level.
"Enough talk, Anastasia," Sillina said gently, she rested a cool palm on Anastasia's forehead, just gently enough to not hurt her, "Rest, and I will watch over you. When you are capable of movement, I will take you to our home in the peaks. There you can rest properly and meet others of my people. They will want to thank you, for rescuing Filli."
"No, thats al-" Anastasia began to decline, but Sillina cut her off.
"Ah ah ah!" she wagged a finger looking every bit like the mother she was, "Do not exclude the vast service you did for not only myself, but for my entire people, Anastasia. Our children are very few, and thus infinitely precious."
"Mrrp?" Filli looked up at her mother with big curious blue eyes.
"You saved one of our few beloved children. Not only that, you saved her from our people's most loathed foes, and a fate that we consider worse than death," Sillina spoke gravely, and the absolutely icy certainty of her tone caused both Anastasia and Filli to shrink into the spots they were resting in. It wasn't until this moment that Filli had any idea just how great the danger she had been in was. Yes, she had been terrified for her life. But there was something in her mother's expression that made it seem ten time's worse.
Anastasia's dark eyes were unable to look away from Sillina's grave blue ones. She truly meant every word, including the statement that Filli had escaped a fate worse than death. Her need to provide for Ana was more than simple gratitude. It was about honor. Slowly, Anastasia closed her eyes and turned away, sinking further into her make-shift bed. It was her silent acceptance of Sillina's care.
Sillina knew it as well, and she smiled, "Good."
As Anastasia wasn't able to stay awake much longer. She was still completely drained from her battle, and needed to recuperate her reserves. Speaking with Sillina had taken what little strength she had managed to accumulate. Anastasia let herself be lulled back into a restful sleep by the gentle sounds of the camp fire crackling and popping. Sillina began to hum a soft lullaby, whether for Anastasia or Filli it was unclear. Maybe for the both of them. Anastasia faded under the soothing darkness of unconsciousness, rest assured that Sillina would watch over her.
It would take several days before Anastasia could be anywhere near well enough to travel. Sillina stayed by her side the entire time. Another Kiinaman would stop by periodically with supplies for their campsite. It seemed to be a young man, from what Anastasia could tell, and he referred to her with great respect whenever he arrived. It made Anastasia slightly awkward to be so completely venerated. But the young man never stayed long, politely excusing himself shortly after delivering food, fresh linens, and other necessary sundries.
Filli also never left Anastasia's side, sticking to her hero like proverbial glue. It was very sweet, even if she did end up more under her mother's feet than helping. It was, as Sillina would say, the thought that counted.
Total Word Count: 5003
75% Training Weights: +75% PL
Human: +10% zeni
Heavy Weights: Equipped
Weighted Power Level: 3,689
Monster Hunter Ultimate
You happen to run into a monster! Whether you were hunting it, it was hunting you, or you both just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't matter. One of you isn't leaving this fight alive!
+20% PL gains, +10% Zeni gains
Chance to carve off materials from the monster to make a set of clothes items!
15 or above/D20
Anastasia trudged through the under brush of the jungle. Brute had told her of a place that supposedly had a lot of wild animals that were a danger to the average person. He had used to travel the area and fight many wild creatures like rampaging boars and giant dinosaurs. He recounted the time that he had punched a pterodactyl in the face with such furious passion, Anastasia had been tempted to call him out on it being just a story. She didn't have doubts that Brute had faced such creatures, but she doubted it had been inside a hollow mountain, while he was shirtless, his rippling physique shimmering with sweat, rescuing a baby.
"Mrowr?"
Anastasia paused in her march, and looked about for the sound that she had heard. Or had she? It had been so quiet and she had been lost in thought-
"Mrrrr."
Anastasia felt a nudge against her leg. She looked down to see a ragged little bundle of red hair and wide blue eyes staring up at her. It was a cat, possibly even a kitten, judging by it's proportions. It stood at her knee, larger than the average cat, possibly some sort of wild cat?
Anastasia shook her head, partly in amazement that the kitten had found the courage to approach her, but mostly in sadness. The kitten was injured, with a ragged wound along it's left hind quarter.
"I'm sorry, little one. What happened to you?" she knelt down slowly, so as not to startle it. Even though the kitten had approached her, it was still a skittish wild animal. The kitten blinked, then leaned over and nudged the human girl's arm with it's nose. Anastasia's eyes softened. She reached a hand to stroke the kitten's head, but it jerked back, wanting to sniff her fingers instead. It nipped playfully at Anastasia's index finger.
Anastasia pulled her hand back and eyed the kitten in surprise. 'Well, aren't you brazen?' she thought to herself with an arched eyebrow. The kitten nipped at her fingers again, and raised a paw to bat at her hand innocently. Anastasia wiggled her fingers playfully, enticing the kitten to bat at her hand and fingers even more.
The kitten stopped mid bat, and froze. It's eyes went wide and wild, it's slender back arched, it's red hair stood on end, and it hissed violently. Anastasia blinked in surprise as she saw the surge of terror consume the little thing, and she held her hands up placatingly, "Easy ther-"
Then she sensed it. It wasn't necessarily like sensing a power level, but it wasn't any one thing like a sound or scent. It was just a suffocating heavy feeling, slowly building... Something malevolent...
With blinding speed, Ana turned to see a huge monster stepping through the woods with a slow feline gait. Anastasia swiftly maneuvered herself between the monster and the kitten, who was still hissing. The beast's lithe movements, wicked claws, and vaguely feline face and muzzle were where the similarities between it and a typical cat ended.
This giant creature was predominantly purple in color with red accents. Instead of the fur typical of cats, it was instead covered in a more armor like plating and fierce yellowish spikes. There were two long spikes extending from it's forearms, and a bevy of them attached to it's tale. From it's brow came overlapping spike-like horns that looked like layers of thorns. It even had a malevolent purple glow to it not unlike ki or energy. It growled a low and base-y growl from deep in it's chest that almost vibrated through Anastasia's very bones.
'Demon'... she thought, then shook the idea away. Demons didn't exist... but the malevolence that this monster exuded certainly made her second guess that notion. Anastasia looked back over her shoulder at the little red kitten, an innocent thing with a series of gashes along his side and leg.
The monster bared its teeth, then lifted a huge paw and extended its needle-sharp claws.
Why was this monster after this kitten? Something that was worth little more than a morsel of food? Why attack it like this? She had no idea, and couldn't find out. Who was she to know the ways of beasts? All she did know is herself, and she knew that she couldn't let this innocent life be snuffed out. Perhaps that was nature, and it was meant to be the kitten's time. But Anastasia was here, and she wasn't going to turn away.
And that was it. The time for hesitation was through. Now it was time to act. Anastasia attacked.
The monster was not expecting this from her, it was accustomed to everything being intimidated by it's presence and strength. That, combined with the speed and strength of Anastasia's attack caught it off guard. Anastasia was little more than a blur of movement, and the monster lashed out with its claws. connecting with nothing, yet shredding the trees behind where Anastasia had been a moment ago. It twisted, trying to avoid the flurry of ki blasts that landed on its head and flanks, yowling in pain, to no avail. The monster fell on its side under the barrage, dark ki flickering from it's numerous wounds.
Anastasia paused to see if her attack had been fierce enough to deter the monster, and if it would flee. She wanted to avoid killing if she could. It was merely a beast, no matter how malevolent it seemed, and she didn't want to kill it with out undue reason.
The monster pushed itself to its feet, growling low. The creature measured Anastasia with wary eyes, and just when Anastasia hoped it might turn and flee, it pounced and slashed at her with outstretched claws. Anastasia dodged out of the way of the shredding swipe of the monster's claws that roe up deep gouges in the ground behind her. The creature was fast, and would not be caught off guard again.
Anastasia jumped and dodged as the beast came at her with monstrous speed, tearing up the landscape with furious clawing motions, reading Anastasia's movements with increasingly surprising accuracy. Ana gritted her teeth against a hiss of pain. She didn't stop moving to see the shredded edges of the sleeve on her left arm flutter to the ground. She needed to return to the offensive.
Anastasia focused on created a small, but powerful ball of charged ki in the palm of her hand. She turned mid-air leap to face the monster's attack. The beast flew at her, roaring, eyes glowing. But instead of dodging, Anastasia held up her hand and released the ki blast at the monster, just as it swiped it's claws in her direction. The blast hit the monster dead on. Anastasia twisted in the air, but not far enough, and she felt the sharp pain of flesh and muscle shredding down to the bone...
The monster flew backwards smack into a very solid tree, shattering the trunk, toppling it. It collapsed to the ground among the splinters of wood, twitching silently as teh energy from the tiny ki blast arced over it's large form.
Ana landed on her feet, blood seeping from four perfectly parallel gashes in her right forearm. A millisecond slower, and she would have lost her arm completely. Anastasia closed her eyes briefly, fighting back the pain. She shook her head and looked around for the red kitten, to see if it had been harmed in the conflict. The entire area was a mess of torn up earth and wood. Tree trunks were shredded into thin ribbons of paper in some places due to the monster's fierce claw attacks. Anastasia felt a cold lump form deep in her belly. It seemed unlikely that the kitten would have managed to escape all this unsca-
"Mreeoww?"
Ana turned her head towards the noise and floated to a small pile of rubble. Curled up in a ball in a sheltered alcove of two shattered boulder pieces was the little kitten. Anastasia let out the breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding.
"Hello there..." she knelt, extending her one good arm gently to the kitten, "I'm glad you're okay..."
A prickle of heat was the only warning Anastasia had before the creature hissed and a flash of black ki launched from it to her. She almost dodged, but realized it would expose the kitten. Instead she hunkered down to protect the kitten's little hideaway, and drew her own ki around herself to bolster her self against the monster's attack. The attack hit her, staggering her with it's strength. The black energy burned at her skin, filling her nose with the smell of her own flesh cooking.
The monster stood up from it's prone position where it had fallen, the armor plating on its body shifted, standing almost on end. Anastasia stood tense and ready, focusing above the pain shooting through the nerves of her ki-burned skin. A low snarl of unearthly fury emanated from the monster's throat as it glared her down, it's nose twitching at the scent of her fresh blood and burned flesh.
Ana shifted her weight, and the beast pounced. They met in a blur of speed and a clash of terrific power, Anastasia just barely able to deflect the monster away from it's trajectory. She bounded back, circling to the side to continue drawing it's focus to her, and not the kitten hidden in the rubble. The monster's spiked tail lashed in anger. It covered it's self with another layer of burning ki to turn it's very body into a burning weapon should she try to deflect it again and launched it's self at her once more.
Anastasia jumped in a blur of speed, flipping up and over the monster's claws and the tearing destruction of their wake. Anastasia peppered the beast with rapid fire ki blasts, unable to strike it physically, and not having the time to charge a stronger attack, The beast roared and turned to meet her attack with unbridled fury.
Anastasia twisted as the monster came at her, feeling a seering pain scorch across her thigh as she barely managed to avoid another rake of it's sharp claws. Both her arm and her leg was now shredded with deep parallel gashes, rendering them almost useless. She couldn't keep this up. Each of the monster's blows were deadly leaving her with no room for any margin of error. Meanwhile her attacks barely seemed to penetrate it's armor plating. She wasn't sure if she could create that same stunning blast again.
Think... think Anastasia!
She needed to hit it with something more powerful. She needed to charge up a proper Gunshot blast. Anastasia clenched her fist, charging up her ki desperately. The beast flicked a paw in her direction and Ana gasped letting go of her ki attack and trying to dodge out of the way. Searing pain lanced through the shoulder of the same arm that it had torn through previously and she was flung back several feet from the force of the blow. She crashed against a tree, smacking her head back on the bark, stars dancing in her eyes. Anastasia bounced off the tree and fell face first into the dirt.
Anastasia groggily lifted her head, ignoring the pain in her leg and her thoroughly ruined arm. The beasts pupil's narrowed as it focused intently on her, and it prowled forward slowly. It took obvious note of her injuries and with the beastial instinct of a predator, recognized injured prey. It could take it's time... Anastasia gritted her teeth, biting back a hiss of pain as she tried to push herself to get up... But her arms gave out and she fell flat to the floor again. She was losing so much blood...
So... dizzy...
A roaring in her ears. Not the beast. A different roar. Distant. But no less terrifying. A scream of shrapnel, gun fire, ki blasts, pain, agony, and so much more. Anastasia clenched her eyes tight. She was scared. So scared. Where were her mom and dad? An explosion went off near her, and she was thrown from her feet to the ground. Anastasia curled up in a ball. She was 8 again. She was wearing those fatigues that just draped on her. They were never meant to be worn by some one so small.
Why did they put her here? She was just a kid. How was she supposed to fight? With trembling fingers she found the knife sheathed at her belt and the little energy pistol as well. They looked like toys in her hands, not killing tools. She swallowed hard and looked up through the smoke and debris around her. People were running. Some in the same clothes she was wearing. Some not.
Crunch.
A boot stepped in front of her face, blocking her view.
Ana looked up at the scowling face of her captain. What was his name? She couldn't remember. He was just The Captain. The man who screamed and "trained" them to be strong. How was this strong though? She was just scared and lost. She wasn't a soldier. She was just-
"Get up."
Anastasia trembled on the ground, staring up at The Captain wide eyed. She couldn't move for fear.
"Get up, or you're going to die here."
Ice water flooded her veins. She had no illusions that she wasn't going to die. But somehow the way he just said it so plainly made it real. Made it true. Irrefutable.
'I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.'
The words spun in a circle in her mind. A repeating mantra swirling again and again, consuming her every thought as she looked up at The Captain. He turned away from her, not willing to waste any more time on the child. Anastasia's heart leaped into her throat and she screamed, "No! Wait! Please!! I don't want to die!"
The Captain only paused for a moment, but he did not look back, "Then get up."
Get up.
Anastasia's ki flared around her body in an explosive wave. The rocks and debris around her blasted up by the pressure of it. She activated her Adrenaline Rush, figuratively and literally. Her heart was thrumming in her ears. The blood dripping from her gaping wounds instead flew upward from the air pressure of her ki power.
Anastasia stood upright before the beast, crouched in a ready stand. Bright tendrils of ki emanated from every inch of her skin, blazing around her, lifting her hair and clothes in the updraft. She held her hands before her, fists clenched tight. Her eyes narrowed into icy resolve.
The beast only hesitated for a moment, then lashed out with not just it's claws, but with the same black power that it had used on her before.
Anastasia wasn't there.
Swiftly the beast turned, and leaped out of the way of Anastasia's shining ki blast, tearing right through the air where it had be standing only moments before. The beast's eyes were wide, but it merely bared it's fangs and roared at her, not so easily cowed.
It wasn't smart enough to know better.
Another blast. It dodged, but this time the heat grazed it's flank, leaving a scorch mark along it's armored plating. Retribution for the fires it had burned Ana with previously. Now Anastasia attacked in earnest. The beast dodged and twisted desperately, but it's great body was not meant to dodge. It was meant to attack. It was predator, not prey, and thus was unable to respond effectively in defense. Even so, it still managed to elude the bulk of Anastasia's attacks. If only just barely.
She refused to give it a chance to regain it's bearings so that it could mount an offensive attack. She kept the pressure up forcing it to simply dodge, and run, desperate to avoid being blown away by her attacks. She shifted, disappearing from it's view again briefly. Another blast from it's opposite flank. The creature leaped skyward, flaming ki a nova around it. It twisted and then came down at Anastasia like a falling mortar. She jumped out of the way and the ground exploded, the impact leaving a deep crater, with the beast in it's center.
It reared it's head back and roared a defiant challenge against Anastasia. Who was she to challenge it? Master of the wilds!
What was a master of the wilds to a survivor of war?
Anastasia smashed into the beast mid-roar. She grabbed it's two large fangs in her fists, forcing it's mouth to stay open. She pushed it back, leveraging her body over the beast's. The monster couldn't push back, only able to cringe, paws scrabbling against the crumbling dirt of the pit it had made for it's self. Spittle drooled from it's open maw, and the flames that surrounded it were starting to gutter out, overwhelmed by Ana's shining Ki.
Anastasia pushed down harder and harder, the beast only able to let out choking and gagging wheezes. There was a dull pop. The beast's eyes widened. It's jaw had been dislocated. And still Ana didn't let up on her furious press. It's wheezing and gagging turned into pained and frightened screeches. But the ice in Anastasia's eyes did not care.
With a dull and wet shredding sound, it's lower jaw was ripped completely free in a splatter of bright blood. It splashed all along Ana's torso, her damaged arm, and the rocky earth beneath them. Anastasia threw aside the monster's jaw, and it slumped to the ground, tongue lolling out without anything to support it. The beasts entire frame quaked in fear, pain, and just pure shock. The fire of it's ki was snuffed out with it's will to fight.
Anastasia knew that losing it's lower jaw wasn't enough to kill it. At least not right away. But it would not live for long with such a wound. If blood loss and infection didn't kill it, starvation from being unable to eat certainly would. She couldn't leave it like this. She refused to leave it like this. She could at least grant it one bit of kindness in ending it cleanly. Anastasia hadn't wanted it to come to this. But come to it, it had.
With out it's ki and fighting spirit to bolster it, the creature had no chance of resisting the ki infused swipe of her arm that lopped what remained of it's head from it's body. It tumbled to the ground anti-climatically. It's body rolling over in much the same way. Ana herself following not long after.
She fell against the creature's body, all the strength leaving her as well. Her ki flickering out and dying with the last of her will power. Was she dying as well? After everything?
She didn't want to die...
Dully, through the swimming black at the edge of her vision, through the fog over coming her senses, she could hear the soft mews of the kitten. Good. It had survived through the battle. Then it wasn't for nothing, then. She had managed to save one little thing.
Good.
Anastasia sluggishly swam up through the blackness of unconsciousness. It was a tremendous effort, taking almost all her will power just to open her eyes. Above was star light and the glow of a crescent moon shining down at her. She was laying in a very cushioned sleeping bag that was zipped up to her neck. She felt sore all over, her muscles over exerted from her desperate fight and pushing herself beyond her limits. But she felt the pain most acutely in her arm and leg. They seared with a bone deep agony that was nearly blinding.
'I'm alive?' She thought to herself in numb shock. Surely after all the blood she lost she must be dead. But if she were dead, then why was she in so much pain? Was she condemned to hell for everything she had done in the war? If so, why bless her with the sight of such a beautiful sky, and rest her in a comfortable sleeping bag? No, she must be alive. Impossibly, amazingly, incredibly, alive...
"Meow meoooow!!" the kitten appeared in her vision, standing over her and crying out happily. It immediately began purring, rumbling like a little motor boat.
"'lo... li'l one..." Anastasia barely managed to mumble out, even smiling hurt, but she smiled anyway.
"Ah, you're awake! Good!" a soft voice that seemed to have the same soft rumbling cadence as the kitten's purr spoke up. A second face appeared in Anastasia's view. This one was also furred, red, and cat-like. A more humanoid copy of the kitten. Animal-kin How odd.
"...How?" Ana asked.
"My guess? A little bit of luck and a lot of stubbornness," the animal-kin, who seemed to be a woman judging by her dress and voice, smiled kindly at Anastasia. She then turned to grab a small cup that had, surprisingly, a straw in it, and carefully lifted Ana's head so that she could drink from it, "Slowly now."
Ana drank gratefully but heeded the woman's advice and only took small sips as she did so. She stopped when she felt a cough coming and fought it down. She knew a cough right now would be more than a little excruciating. The woman laid her head back down gently.
"Thank you for saving my daughter, Filli," the woman said while rubbing the top of the kitten's head with obvious love and affection, "I don't know what I would do if I had lost her."
"D-daughter?" Anastasia asked in surprise, voice stronger after having a little bit of water to cool her throat.
"Yes," she laughed quietly, "Sometimes when we are young, we Kiinaman can take after our animal side's more. In a year or so, she'll begin walking upright, and speaking."
"I see..." Ana said, "Who are you?"
"Oh! Forgive me!" the cat woman raised a hand to her mouth in embarrassment, "How rude I didn't introduce myself. My name is Sillina."
"You saved my life. I think you're allowed to be rude... my name is Anastasia."
Sillina tossed her head back with a laugh, "You are making jokes! Good. You will be just fine."
Anastasia closed her eyes as a fresh wave of exhaustion overcame her. She felt a nudge against her cheek and heard a soft plaintive chirp, "mmrp?"
Anastasia opened one eye a crack to see the worried blue eyes of Filli mere inches from her own. It was obvious how worried she was, she hadn't thought Anastasia would wake up. Any time she closed her eyes, Filli worried that she wouldn't open them again. Ana felt touched by her concern, she gave the kitten, the child, a consoling smile.
"Now now, Filli," Sillina chastised, but with no genuine ire. She reached over and scooped up her daughter gently, pulling her away from Anastasia. The child had practically been standing on Anastasia's head. Sillina gently rubbed her daughter's head to sooth her, "You must let her rest. She won't get better with you hovering. Alright?"
Filli seemed to settle back in her mother's arms, accepting the head pets given, but she kept worried blue eyes on Anastasia's prone form. It seemed she felt responsible for the condition her hero was in. Her little tail twitched in mild annoyance, but she didn't try to escape her mother.
"Sillina?" Ana said, "What was that thing? Why was it attacking Filli?"
That was the mystery of this entire thing. Why was such a powerful monster chasing after a kitten that was barely a morsel worth expending all that energy for? Most predators wouldn't get so aggressive for a small amount of food. They need to conserve their energy at the end of the day, and if prey put up enough resistance, it wasn't worth burning the calories. But not only did Anastasia put up a fight that was more trouble than the kitten worth, but she was genuinely a dangerous threat for the beast. Even more obvious since Anastasia actually did manage to kill it. By all rights, it should have fled long ago.
"That..." Sillina paused. She seemed reluctant to discuss the matter, but knew that Anastasia deserved to know about the creature that nearly killed her, "That was an Olamangam."
"................. ok?" Ana asked, prompting further elaboration. The name alone meant nothing to her.
Sillina let loose a quiet snort of amusement but continued, "The Olamangam are rare beasts that hunt in these mountains. Stories say that they live over one thousand years, but of course who could prove such claims? Regardless, it is known they are long lived, partially due to their long periods of sleep."
"They hibernate? For how long?" Ana asked.
"Years, possibly decades," Sillina said.
That explains why they're so long lived then. Or at least partly. Anastasia thought to herself, but she didn't comment, not wanting to interrupt Sillina again, waiting instead for her to continue.
"Well, the Olamangam feed upon the meat of other beasts like any other predator, but they prefer our flesh," Sillina said, placing a hand over her chest, "We, the Kiinaman, have a sort of... magic or energy within us? It is similar to that energy that Filli said you wielded."
"Ki energy," Ana nodded.
"Quiet so. The power we have is similar to that. It is something that can only be found in my people, as far as we know. It is this energy that the Olamangam hunger for. Bye consuming the Kiinaman, it fuels the Olamangam's strength and longevity," Sillina said.
Anastasia frowned softly at this explanation. A specific type of energy that the monster wanted? She thought back to those ki flames that had burned her so thoroughly. She felt her flesh sting under the bandages she was wrapped in. That power was taken from these people and why it was so intent on attacking Filli? How much energy could one child have for a creature as powerful as that? Enough that it was willing to fight Anastasia to the death for Filli?
"How many of your people are there, Sillina?" Anastasia asked.
"Not many thanks to the Olamangam. My tribe has been weakened to but only a few hundred of us. We used to roam this entire land, but now we are just residents of this mountain."
"Hrm..." Anastasia closed her eyes, absorbing the knowledge. She'd never fought anything like Olamangam before. It had been a close thing, a damn close thing. She had no idea how someone like Filli and Sillina were supposed to resist something like that. Anastasia gently brushed her ki sense over Sillina, and she did not seem particularly powerful, but that meant little when there were others capable of suppressing their power level.
"Enough talk, Anastasia," Sillina said gently, she rested a cool palm on Anastasia's forehead, just gently enough to not hurt her, "Rest, and I will watch over you. When you are capable of movement, I will take you to our home in the peaks. There you can rest properly and meet others of my people. They will want to thank you, for rescuing Filli."
"No, thats al-" Anastasia began to decline, but Sillina cut her off.
"Ah ah ah!" she wagged a finger looking every bit like the mother she was, "Do not exclude the vast service you did for not only myself, but for my entire people, Anastasia. Our children are very few, and thus infinitely precious."
"Mrrp?" Filli looked up at her mother with big curious blue eyes.
"You saved one of our few beloved children. Not only that, you saved her from our people's most loathed foes, and a fate that we consider worse than death," Sillina spoke gravely, and the absolutely icy certainty of her tone caused both Anastasia and Filli to shrink into the spots they were resting in. It wasn't until this moment that Filli had any idea just how great the danger she had been in was. Yes, she had been terrified for her life. But there was something in her mother's expression that made it seem ten time's worse.
Anastasia's dark eyes were unable to look away from Sillina's grave blue ones. She truly meant every word, including the statement that Filli had escaped a fate worse than death. Her need to provide for Ana was more than simple gratitude. It was about honor. Slowly, Anastasia closed her eyes and turned away, sinking further into her make-shift bed. It was her silent acceptance of Sillina's care.
Sillina knew it as well, and she smiled, "Good."
As Anastasia wasn't able to stay awake much longer. She was still completely drained from her battle, and needed to recuperate her reserves. Speaking with Sillina had taken what little strength she had managed to accumulate. Anastasia let herself be lulled back into a restful sleep by the gentle sounds of the camp fire crackling and popping. Sillina began to hum a soft lullaby, whether for Anastasia or Filli it was unclear. Maybe for the both of them. Anastasia faded under the soothing darkness of unconsciousness, rest assured that Sillina would watch over her.
It would take several days before Anastasia could be anywhere near well enough to travel. Sillina stayed by her side the entire time. Another Kiinaman would stop by periodically with supplies for their campsite. It seemed to be a young man, from what Anastasia could tell, and he referred to her with great respect whenever he arrived. It made Anastasia slightly awkward to be so completely venerated. But the young man never stayed long, politely excusing himself shortly after delivering food, fresh linens, and other necessary sundries.
Filli also never left Anastasia's side, sticking to her hero like proverbial glue. It was very sweet, even if she did end up more under her mother's feet than helping. It was, as Sillina would say, the thought that counted.
Total Word Count: 5003
75% Training Weights: +75% PL
Human: +10% zeni
