The Awakening

[VampiricTouch]

One. The open slash sent him unceremoniously into the next world. He never had the chance to come out of his human guise to fight when the choked guttural scream erupted from his throat...

Two. His companion, having recognized her for who she was, managed to shed his human appearance only to fall like the first as his grotesque form came into completion. The villagers around her finally registered the two corpses fountaining by her feet and went into an uproar as a woman screamed murder...

Three. He ran. Quickly realizing that the hunter had arrived with little chance of survival, he returned to his monstrous form and fled. The sinewy muscles in her legs bulged as she drew on the darker pulsating power for speed. Quickly closing the gap between them, she cut off his escape route just as the claymore cut into his belly.

"You... half breed... using your own powers to hunt your own -" The strained words spoken between a rasp and a growl was cut short as the claymore swept wide in an open arc and his head left his body in a bloody burst.

She ripped a corner of the dead's shirt to clean the blood on her claymore as the stunned villagers realized the grotesque corpses that laid before them in a gory tapestry of blood. Slowly it dawned on them that she was the one they had requested to come purge their village. A man, probably the head man of the village, came forth from the crowd and reluctantly held out a large parcel as he stammered, "Miss... the yoma extermination... the payment - "

"I don't need it." She spoke curtly as she threw the blood stained rag aside. "A strange looking man dressed in black will come for it later. Give it to him then."

"Bu- but what if we give it to the wrong person? With so little to go by..."

"I don't care. If that were the case it will be the same as if this village never paid. Next time, however many yoma appear here we won't come to your aid..."

"Wha- "

"Be careful... it's said that yoma show up several days after to wipe out villages that don't pay... or so I've heard." The disconcerted murmurs hung in the air as she threw the words of caution over her shoulder and left, almost as if she reveled in their discomfort.

"Witch. Damn silver eyed wit-" The venomous voice was quickly hushed as the villagers glanced nervously at the departing woman.

"At least she came... those three yoma could have killed more of us..." A hushed woman answered hastily to cover the fault of the prior voice.

"Doesn't change the fact that she's a silver eyed witch... damn Claymores." The man spat back, slightly subdued as softer murmurs reminded him that she was still in earshot.

She kept walking as if she never heard him. It was until she could no longer hear the ringing names even in her own mind that she slowed her pace. It was the babble of water that finally stopped her as she tossed her gear aside. The armor clattered to the ground and her clothes were left in a disheveled pile.

With sinuous grace, she stepped into the pool of fresh water. Her hand reached up to pull loose the heavy braid of blonde hair, almost white under the sunlight as the water lapped just below the curve of her derriere. She waited for the water to still as her own reflection danced on the ripples of the pond. She followed the loose framing of her hair, avoided the eyes as her gaze trickled down the smooth column of her throat.

It was a body that would have been flawless... save for the large grisly scar that marked her. It had been over 18 years since they had ingrafted the repulsive flesh into her body... but the scar looked as fresh as it did the day it became a part of her.... bleaching her once black hair into the blonde it was now... and her eyes... into that hated silver. With an angry splash the reflection was dispelled as she began to bathe. Methodically and repeatedly scrubbing every inch of skin as if the process, even after 18 years, could be eradicated from her body.

"Need to wash off the smell of blood, Kira?" An all too familiar voice interrupted her privacy as she turned to face him. "It's useless. No matter how much you wash, the smell is from your own body."

She scowled at the man strangely dressed in black. Her silver eyes narrowed with annoyance as she took note of the large bag in his hand, probably the recent payment from the village. Walking past him she rose from the water to dress.

"You received the gold for 3 yomas, Raynor? I'm assuming you're here to tell me we've another request?" She spoke curtly as she pulled her garments in place, the droplets of water soaking into the clothes as they clung to her body.

"Of course. It's an order from Ophylian, a little over two days walk west from here."

"Ophylian... Isn't that one of those 'holy cities?"

"It is. Ophylian banishes any who wield the 'demon arts' in the name of their god, Claymores are no exception."

"So why would they want us - "

"They probably ran into a problem they can't banish. A lot of people have turned up dead... the count is at 20 corpses in this last month. It's abnormally large so you'll be going in with another. I've prepared some things you'll need to disguise yourself to get in. The city must not know that the organization is involved." He tossed her a parcel as he spoke, watching as she checked its contents.

"Included are normal clothes as well as other essentials. You'll also find medicine that suppress your yoma side. It will allow your eyes to return to a normal color temporarily, though you won't be able to sense yoma under the effects of the drug. Other than that, the number of yoma, what they're like... The mission doesn't change. Flush them out and kill them."

[southernscion]

Piruson looked at the bodies that lay strewn about around him and his surviving partners. For months the tasks being handed out to Piruson were getting more and more difficult, survival getting harder and harder. Piruson sheathed the two shorter weapons he preferred over the Claymores usually used by his order. The short swords served the function well, faster, lighter than the claymore, lacked the cutting power of its larger cousin, but in his hands no less deadly.

This time the mission would have been impossible if he hadn't talked a handful of other Claymore's into helping him. As it was three of the six died in the process. This village had been so infested by the Yoma, that they, as a village, never asked for the help. Not that the order ever really did missions for free, this one apparently was, and Piruson wondered how so many Yoma had managed to congregate in a villiage of two hundred. It would only have been a couple of months before the Yoma had killed off the population.

As it was most of the population died with the Yoma. The lead Yoma, Acaert, some how convinced the humans that Piruson and his fellows were the real threat and en masse they advanced; and while Piruson and his fellows tried to fend off the humans while trying to get to the Yoma, eventually, the decision was made to kill any and all that attacked and clear the village completely if need be,

The fear of imminent death over rode the fear of possible death and the humans backed away and then ran. Piruson and company tracked down the Yoma there after, slaughtering them one by one or small groups.

Leaving town, Piruson was quickly joined by Usxir, his collector, his handler. Piruson scowled at seeing him so quickly and asked, "So soon?"

"Yes, you are to go to Ophylian, they seem to have an infestation problem." Usxir stated.

"Screw them, let their impotent god protect them." Piruson said flatly.

Something in Usxir's voice gave Piruson pause as Usxir asked, "Are you refusing the job?"

Piruson stopped and looked at Usxir and said, "No, give me the details."

Two days later, Piruson watched as Kira laid out three demons easily. Piruson had hidden in the branches of a tree and could have dropped down on her as she passed below him. But he waited.

Eventually Piruson spotted Kira's handler collecting the funds the village owed and then he followed the same path as Kira had, passing just below him. Still Piruson waited, nearly an hour passed before he dropped down from the trees and followed the trail left by Kira and her handler.

Piruson stopped at the edgfe of the firelight of where Kira was camped, her handler had passed by a little while earlier. The firelight glinted off of his shaved head and silver eyes. He eyed her, as she eyed him. Piruson had made no attempt to sneak up on Kira, it would be a costly fight, they were ranked close enough together that it would be an ugly fight.

Piruson's baritone flowed across the space between them as he said, "Kira, I am Piruson. I am told that you are to accompany me, or vice versa, to Ophylian. May I advance and share your fire?"

[VampiricTouch]

A nagging sense of vague familiarity rang in the recesses of her mind. She identified another Claymore just as the silhouette cleared the shadows and stepped into the light of her fire.

A shrug was all the man received for his request as her eyes watched him settle down across from her. Twin swords... quite the rebel for choosing weapons against the organization's directive... She leveled her gaze at his silver eyes before heaving a sigh of open resignation.

"I suppose being accompanied would attract less attention than if I were to waltz in alone. Got any ideas for a cover?"

"Well, to the best of my knowledge neither of us have a skill outside of hunting and killing yoma and we clearly can't go in as ourselves. We can go as a husband and wife visiting your sister or mine, who is ill."

She sputtered and nearly choked on the mouthful of water she had taken from her water skin. "You have got to be kidding me - "

Her eyes closed in a silent prayer for patience as she had to admit that it was probably why the organization paired them together. With a sigh, she tossed another log into the fire and watched the ash crumble under the force of impact as the sparks flew in the face of her annoyance. Piruson looked at Kira flatly, not a hint of a smile on his face as his silver eyes reflected a false warm glint, an effect from the firelight.

"No." He said. "I do not kid when it comes to killing Yoma." Piruson looked at the stark, dangerous beauty that was Kira and said, "If you have a better idea, I am listening."

The silence stretched as she weighed her options. Finally she answered, "It would be a solid cover... I can ask my handler to send word to the agent in Ophylian." Her eyes traveled to the parcel packed neatly beside her claymore, "I only have enough medication to hide for about 4 days. I'm assuming you received the same. We'll have to make it a quick hunt..."

Piruson looked at Kira and nodded, "Okay. Did your handler have any better information than mine did? Specifically he was rather short on the number of Yoma."

"Specifics were vague as well. He told me the death count was around 20 in the last month. We either have 3 or 4 gorging on meals, or 5 to 6 eating sparingly." She paused a moment longer before murmuring, "Either that... or we have an awakened on our hands."

A shadow crossed Piruson's face. The math didn't fit. he didn't know Kira personally but he knew her reputation. Three or four yoma didn't require both of them. Frankly neither did five or six. Too few yoma for their talents. Way too few.

Finally Piruson looked at Kira and said, "Your handler lied. There is no need to send us both for three or four Yoma. Has to be much more than that."

"Aye... that leaves an awakened... which usually takes at least a party of four... unless even the death count is wrong."

Piruson massaged his temples slightly, perhaps a habit from when he had hair to run his fingers through. "If there is truly an Awakened there, I hope you've made peace with your gods."

Piruson thought about the only time he had been a participant in a hunt for an awakened, and shuddered. "Let's not assume anything at this point. Let's get there and get a feel for what is going on."

As they stood up to leave, Piruson turned to Kira, and asked, "Who have you made mad enough to see you die?"

~~~***~~~

Raynor stepped into the underground facility. The candle lights along the hallways flickered ominously as he made his way through the corridors into the meeting room.

"Number 13, Kira, cleared the mission without problems. She is now enroute to take care of the request we had from Ophylian." Raynor reported simply after the other members had filed into the room.

"Number 11. He's an odd one. He again successfully completed another mission. He's starting to take more initiative. He recruited the help of number 15, 17, 18, 22, 26 and 29 before going into the town. All members reported that the humans in the town were all dead prior to their arrival. Numbers 17, 26 and 29 have died on the mission." The man named Usxir reported to the general council, with the soft scritching of notes being taken in the background.

"Number 11 you said? This isn't the first time he's breached the organizations way of doing things. With a test subject going against so much of the organization's normal protocol, it would be best to get rid of him as soon as possible." An ominous voice answered with little hesitation before continuing, "What is the count for Awakens? How is the next generation coming along, when will we have replacements for the ones we've lost?"

"Three more have awakened, all male. One of them was killed before a full awakening, but the other two are on the loose. It seems that males tend to awaken faster... We might have to reconsider how we do our experimentation. The next generation can leave anytime after their final test. Of course such tests might not pass any at all."

"Very well. Start the final test for them. Those handlers that have male subjects, keep a closer eye on their activities. We can't afford to have them awaken and jeopardize our research."

~~~***~~~

They traveled silently. Raynor had brought a mule and wagon for them to conceal their weapons as well as instructions on how to contact their agent. The dull rattle of wheels on dirt were the only sound that broke into Kira's thoughts as she contemplated his question. Had she done anything to warrant an early death? or was there something else...

The city gates came within view as the rounded the bend. Under the cover of their wagon, she pulled loose the leather jerkin without bothering to hide herself from her partner. She undressed and dressed as if he weren't around, quickly pulling on the civilian clothes and thankful that the dress had been conservative.

The guards at the gates immediately stopped them as the captain eyed the pair appraisingly.

"We came to deliver supplies to the apothecary, my wife came along to visit her sister." Piruson spoke smoothly.

"I thought another did the deliveries... wasn't it Jared?" The captain asked skeptically.

"Aye, and he's not been feeling well sir. With the apothecary demanding his shipment of goods, Jared asked us to do the delivery for him." Kira lifted her face reveal warm hazel eyes as she gave the captain a demure smile.

The captain waved them through as the guards finished their inspection. The clatter on the cobblestones heralded their entry as Kira rested with her hand tucked in Piruson's arm, with all appearances the serene, demure and loving wife. Despite the convincing facade she kept up at all times, her mind ticked at a rapid pace. Can't sense anything with the damned suppressants... It's like being blind! We'll be hampered until the medicine wears off. If all things go well, we hunt at nightfall.

[southernscion]

The shod hooves of the mule and the metal banded wheels of the wagon were surprisingly loud as they struck, and clattered along, the cobblestone street. As Kira and he cleared the gate, Piruson’s eyes swept the street and took in the details in a single pass. What he saw was an unsettling confirmation of what he had a gut feeling of during the interview with the captain of the guard. There was a nearly palpable fog of fear smothering the city.

No children played in the streets; in fact their customary laughter was not to be heard at all. Everyone on the street scurried much like cockroaches when a candle is lit. Frenetic movements from building to building, no one stayed outside any longer than was absolutely necessary. Each person going about their business heads down, never looking at anyone else.

The formerly whitewashed buildings with rough wood trim had a dingy grey patina that cast a death like pallor over the buildings, which leaked out into the city at large. Shutters were fastened shut on the buildings that had them, and the buildings with out shutters had wood nailed in place over the windows. No doors were open and the yards empty. Even the yards with toys of children were empty, the toys usually stacked up next to the house.

As they passed the market square, Piruson was struck at the dearth of people. Normally the market would be bustling, housewives getting food stuffs, children in tow. Merchants would be hawking their wares, their voices rising to drown out their competitors. Little of that was happening. The merchants were solemn, the housewives all but not their. And still no children in sight.

Even the evangelical priests that normally dotted the square giving their sermons in unison were unusually quiet and even with the subdued backdrop, could not be heard. Their voices muffled by their chests, as their heads hung low, in defeat, submission, or depression. Their normally bright yellow robes seemed to have taken on the grey pallor of the city and almost blended in with the normally drab attire of the citizens of Ophyllian.

Normally a vibrant city of more than 50,000 in the summer months, Ophylian appeared and sounded deserted. Glancing uneasily at Kira, Piruson drove the cart toward their contact’s place of business. No sound of a dog, no movement of graceful cats, no birds, Piruson did not see any animals at all. Talking more to himself than Kira, he muttered, “Far worse than the bastards let on.”

[VampiricTouch]

They left their shipment with the apothecary, receiving only a curt wary nod as compensation for their trip before the door slammed shut in their faces. The pair turned to make their way through the empty streets, pausing before the faded sign swinging in the wind that read Ophylia's Rest.

The innkeeper's eyes lit up when they stepped past the threshold, but it's excitement quickly faded into a cautious darkness as the old man greeted the pair with a nervous 'hello'.

"We were hoping to get a room for the night sir?" Kira bestowed upon the man a smile warm enough to melt butter as Piruson laid down a few silvers for their stay.

"C-certainly!" The initial wariness evaporated as the innkeeper led them up the stairs to a room, eager to have the business from customers that seemed so friendly.

"Welcome to Ophylian! Might I ask where ye're from? Tis yer first time in Ophylian in't it, I remember mos' faces that pass through here... The pair of ye should take a look at Ophylia's temple... beautiful I tell ye... our goddess of love and prosp'rty. 'sides, rumors have it that vows renew'd in the temple have the blessing of the goddess..."
His idle chatter filled the stairwell as they moved up the creaking steps, voicing questions that were forgotten immediately after they were asked.

He opened the door for the couple and saw the flush that colored her cheeks in a demure blush as she stepped in. He had to stop himself from staring at the sway of her hips while she passed and elbowed her husband with a whisper, "Ye're quite the lucky lad... I'd be a fool to not bring her to receive the goddess' favor"

He turned when Kira sank into a chair with all the appearances of a weary woman unaccustomed to the strains of travel. Recognizing his cue, the innkeeper quickly bowed and left the room.

All aspects of her facade vanished the moment the door latched shut. She set her packed gear aside as she rose to stare out the window. Agitation was written all over the subtle tension of muscles as her eyes watched the incoming darkness that just didn't arrive fast enough. Her eyes focused on the reflection in the glass, waiting for her dark orbs to lighten into silver. Not that she'd have the full use of her power, but it would be the indicator that the suppressant was wearing off.

When her hazel eyes were dirtied with the metallic silver, she turned from the window and changed once more into the black leather uniform. She set her claymore aside and tucked away a pair of knives. She fastened the cloak and brought up the hood to hide her face until all that could be seen was the gleam of silver in the obscure shadow of her face.

"The guards are probably patrolling the streets since they said there's a night curfew. Try not to get caught." She spoke as she pushed the window open and leaped out to land silently on the neighboring roof.

[southernscion]

Piruson watched Kira pace their room like a caged cat uneasily passing the time until the effects of the tablets wore off. After unpacking his gear and putting it away, he sat and ran the blades of his short swords across a whet stone, maintaining their razor sharp edges.

Kira ripped the window open and said, "The guards are probably patrolling the streets since they said there's a night curfew. Try not to get caught." She jumped out the window, landing on the roof of the building next to the inn. Piruson sighed as he watched her start off up the street toward the temple. Grabbing a rope with a grappling hook and waited keeping track of her movements. In a surprisingly short time, Kira’s aura began fading quickly. Just before he thought he would loose his sense of Kira, Piruson began following her, damning the medicine and its negative effects.

Piruson dropped to the street below and followed the alley to a back street and quickly worked his way toward the temple, trailing Kira. The angle he took allowed him to overlap his senses with hers, and allowed him to sense out more of the city, though that was proving to be a much shorter swath than he had hoped for. The medicine they had taken to gain entrance to the city was curtailing his ability to clearly understand what was around him.

If the city was lifeless during the day, at night it was very much like a cemetery in a small village. Not even the wind dared stir the streets of Ophylian. The guards on the street seemed to be walking in a hushed manner; their voices not distinguishable, and just barely audible. Every third street lamp was a light, the street primarily shadows pock marked by an occasional feeble pool of light.

Very few of the buildings had lamps burning and all were battened down. Occasionally conversations could be heard and still very few children could be heard. Increasingly, the hair on Piruson’s arms stood on end. The fear felt by the citizens of Ophylian though palpable during the day was an overbearing weight at night. In case of a fire, it felt as if the citizen’s would burn to death before leaving their houses.

Piruson sensed Kira stopping and began closing the little distance between them. He pulled up short, feeling the distinctive energy of a Yoma. The feel was so fast and fleeting that with Piruson’s dampened abilities, he could not get a good idea of where it was, or how fast it was moving.

Scrambling up the building next to him, Piruson quickly worked his way to Kira, clearly announcing himself before moving in next to her. Leaning in his lips brushing lightly against Kira’s ear, and his left hand resting lightly in the small of her back, Piruson whispered softer than the foot fall of a mouse, “I felt an Yoma. Don’t know where or how far. But close.”

[VampiricTouch]

Hunting blind was the worst. With the medication wearing off at an agonizing pace, she could feel the flickering aura of danger at the periphery of her range, but never a solid sense of where she'd meet it.

Dodging the guards was easy as she moved with a deadly silence. The aura of danger flared once more before it faded into the recesses of what she could reach. So brief that she'd had thought it were imagined if Piruson's arrival didn't confirm the presence of a yoma.

The soft clank of patrol reached her ears first as she grabbed Piruson and the two flipped up onto the roof. She was about to turn and jump down the opposite end to avoid the guards when the aura flared again. She immediately dropped to a crouch beside him as she watched the two guards turn the corner just below them. Which was it? She cursed the medication that blurred her senses.

She picked up a broken roof tile and threw it hard at the house behind the guards. The impact was hard enough to rouse even the inhabitants as a brief murmur of terrified surprise was heard. The guards wheeled on their heels as one moved away to check for the source of sound. As the two separated, it quickly became clear who was the yoma. A quick look at Piruson confirmed her senses as she dropped down to attack the waiting guard. For the first time, she was thankful that the medicine also blurred their own aura from yoma, dulling the response time of her disguised foe.

Piruson followed even closer than her shadow as her knives engaged the monster. The human guard spun on his heels at the clash of sound as she engaged. He had drawn his weapon and was rushing to help his partner when Piruson dropped from the roof, driving the pommel of his short sword into the human guard's helmet and knocking it askew.

Sweeping his left leg, Piruson knocked the legs out from under the guard. He brought down the pommel of his sword, effectively driving the air out of the guard that now laid gasping for breath as his eyes watered from the pain.

By the time Piruson had turned back, Kira had disposed of the yoma, with her knives sprouting from the monster's throat. She pulled her knives free at the sound of clattering footfalls of nearby guards.

"We've a man down!", "Great goddess... another killed - wait no... this is... it's a yoma! Who..." The cacophony of warning calls covered their retreat as they quickly left the scene.

It didn't take much time before the guards swept through the entire city in search of the culprit that had killed the yoma... and attacked their men. The men searched with mixed feelings as the thudding footsteps passed under the closed window of the inn and Kira pulled her cloak off.

"Can you sense anything...?" She asked as she tested the limits of her range once more.

She was in much better humor after disposing of the excess energy that had been thrumming in her veins. However as the full range of her senses returned, she found herself disconcerted by the small flares of yoma she felt scattered in the distance.

[southernscion]

Piruson heard "We've a man down!", "Great goddess... another killed - wait no... this is... it's a yoma! Who...” and cursed to himself, damn they are fast here. Glancing back once at Kira, he headed back to the inn; the path was twisted and convoluted, and with the increased guard activity it was more difficult making it back to the inn unseen.

Shouts of “There! NO THERE!” rang through out the city sometimes close other times not. Through all of the action Piruson ‘s heart beat evenly his cloak trailing behind him, his ears picking up Kira’s foot falls behind him, easily keeping pace. Piruson’s eyes constantly swept the streets ahead of them and the skies above them. His ‘senses’ were coming back to full strength but they were there quite yet.

They arrived at the inn and Pisuron tossed the grappling hook through the window and gave it a tug, seating it firmly, turning to Kira, he said, “Up you go. I’ll be right behind you.”

Watching her a moment, as Kira climbed up the rope, he felt the first flare of a yoma. And then a second. Then a third. And soon too many for him to keep track of. Piruson didn’t think Kira sensed them yet, she would have to actively look for them with her senses, but he had trained himself to survive by knowing the lay of the land and all of it’s occupants.

And this land just took a turn for the hellishly deadly.

As Kira’s legs swung over the window sill, Piruson climbed the rope quickly and yanked it in after himself, then closed the window. Kira asked "Can you sense anything...?"

And then her eyes widened, now that she was concentrating on it, she could feel the numerous yoma roaming the city. The yoma were spacing themselves it seemed, trying to get a read for whoever killed their comrade. A small finger of dread creeped its way through Piruson’s balls, making the scrotum tighten. They were working intelligently and together, a bad sign.

To make matters worse, the guard was closing in on the inn.

[VampiricTouch]

"Do you sense what I - " Her words were interrupted as the sudden pounding on the door beneath them was heard.

"Open up! We're doing an inspection! Seems there might be Silver eyed witches in our midst! We've orders to check all strangers that've just entered the city!" The pounding sounded again as Kira swallowed the pill and nearly tore off the armor that she'd been wearing and pulled on a white chemise. She dragged all other questionable items out of sight.

"But they be lovers! Ye'd barge in on their time toge'er?!" The old man protested as the foot steps resounded up the stairwell.

She pulled the bed sheets around her shoulders and tousled her hair, praying to the gods that the medicine would kick in before the guards arrived at their door. The approaching footsteps were ominous as she closed her eyes. She listened to the pounding of the door, the shuffling of feet as Piruson made his way to the door and it was pushed open.

"Damn witches consorting with demons in our city. Neal said he saw a girl before he was knocked out by something... someone. You! Step up closer, let me see your face. " The guard growled as he pointed to Kira.

She pulled the sheets tighter around her shoulders and watched him through her lashes as she kept her face demurely downcast. Lifting it only after the gauntlet covered hand pulled her chin up and he stared into her eyes... her terror filled hazel eyes.

The man fell silent for a moment before stating, "She's not one of em."

But even after he'd said it he cupped her face with his hands and leered at her. "Though she's quite the pretty lass..."

[southernscion]

Piruson quickly shucked off his armor as Kira was doing the same. The heavy foot falls coming closer and closer. So close that Piruson was not sure that they would be able to finish before the door was kicked in.

Piruson finished kicking his gear out of easy sight from the door as a heavy gauntleted fist rattled the door frame with each knock. Piruson quickly opened the door and watched as the guard focused on Kira and virtually ignored him.

The was anger, power, and lust in the guard's eyes as he grabbed Kira's chin and said, "Though she's quite the pretty lass..."

Not that there were too many guards, Piruson figured he could kill them all before the first hit the ground, but that would certainly put a kibosh on the mission, and there were way too many Yoma here for them to leave. There was hunting to do.

So Piruson said, "Yes, sir. She is a pretty lass. The most beautiful in the world and that is why she and I are going to the temple to say our vows again tomorrow."

Reaching out and gently taking Kira's face from the guard, he gently turned her to him, and said in what he hoped was a heart felt voice, "If the vows were special the first time we said them, perhaps then tomorrow's version will set the world afire." Piruson leaned forward and brushed his lips against Kira's and said, "Much like you have done for me."

Slipping his arms around Kira, Piruson wheeled the two of them in a pirouette, kicking the door shut in the face of the guard. Carrying her to the bed, Piruson said, loud enough to be heard in the hall, "I am so sorry dear, I wanted it to be a surprise."

[VampiricTouch]

He was good. Quite good on the uptake of playing a concerned husband. Good enough that she couldn't find offense at the kiss he'd stole from her lips. She allowed the tension in her eyes to slowly ease as she beamed up at a husband with a smile that made the guards envious. Her eyes softened with the reassurances of his touch like that of a woman whose worries were dispelled by the loving tenderness of his arms. The tense lines of her body relaxed to turn with him as the door closed. She probably even fooled him.

The change was immediate. Her gaze turned frosty as the latch fell into place, it stood in sharp contrast to the lips that touched his, as the throaty groan of appreciation carried down the hall. It was until the traipse of footsteps faded away that she unceremoniously broke free from his lips, making it quite obvious that the touch of lips was a mere act she'd put up for show. The facade she'd kept up vanishing even from her voice as she asked in a brittle whisper, "Sanctimonious bastards. Men like that make me wonder why I even bother doing my job."

"You're good. Both earlier tonight and now. For a moment there I almost thought you were sincere." The compliment left her begrudgingly, as if it pained her to give the praise she felt needed to be expressed. Her words were spoken bluntly without expectation of his opinion before she moved on to more pressing issues, "How many did you sense?"

He ran his fingers across his temple as he looked out the window while she propped herself on her side to stare at his reflection in the glass. "I'm not sure. At least four, maybe more. The drug impaired the sensitivity of what I could distinguish. How many did you feel?"

"I picked up three. But there was something... ominous out there."

"Something stronger?" He half turned from his spot to ask.

"Possibly. More like the gut instinct that something is dangerously wrong here."

"The yoma appear to be working together, more so than usual. It seems they were fanning out, trying to sense us."

"Yoma? working together? That's rare.... I suppose the medicine works in our favor if the hunted are trying to hunt the hunters. At least they won't be able to sense us...." She scowled at that knowledge. "Though that's a small blessing considering that it works both ways. I think we've enough on our hands to petition for back up... but with the speed the organization processes and dispatches orders... we'll run out of medicine before help arrives and possibly be dead."

"I don't think they would send back up. We'll need more of the medicine regardless of back up and as far as death goes, I plan to make sure the yoma here pave my way to hell"

~~~~****~~~~

Morning came early for the pair that slept little and needed little rest. They left the inn with her draped on Piruson's arm, walking with the slow easy gait of lovers enjoying the time with each other more than the sights of their surroundings. Briefly, just briefly she savored the sweetness of being tender to another, and receiving the affection in return.

It was with a pained thought that she kicked herself and reminded herself of the dismal truth that such moments were there only because of the mission they were on, and would never had occurred had circumstances been different. But still she proceeded, whispering sweet nothings in his ear as his arm found its way around her trim waist, just above the flare of her hips softened by the rustle of petticoats that followed her steps.

She knew they were being followed. The shadows that darted from corner to corner that paced after them was barely noticeable, but it was there. It made sense that the guards would want to keep track of the newcomers that had entered the city and so she kept up her oblivious cover. She walked with the confident sway in her steps of a woman who knew she was wanted and unaffected by the side glances from any who saw her.

[southernscion]

Kira had laid down and Piruson watched out the window as she slept. The Yoma were out there and they were in force and working together. He sat at the window and considered the ramifications of that until the first sliver of light began to show itself on the horizon.

Slipping into the bed, Piruson fell asleep almost instantly. Dreams were always an iffy thing for Piruson and the dreams of this morning were of his life before the operation that made him what he was now. A claymore: A preternatural hunter of Yoma, spending a life in a precarious push/pull.

The pull was the incessant lure of becoming Awakened. The final step of evolution for nearly all Claymores, the Awakening was the full realization of the Yoma in a human. The final utter stripping of any humanity and the full freedom of no longer having a care beyond the primal needs all living creatures have. Food. Shelter. Water. Sex. The entire world becomes a system of providing for those primal needs.

The push was the humanity, though the largest part of Piruson, still weaker over all than the pull. Each day Piruson knew he headed to the cliff face that was the Awakening. The fact of his duties was that Piruson and all Claymores sacrificed their humanity to save humanity. They no longer received the benefit of long term relationships. The parts of him that held morality, creativity were chipping themselves away in an attempt to push him back from the Awakening. Intimacy had long been forgotten, whether it was sexual or otherwise.

And this night he remembered days when he was human, fully. He once had a wife, a child. Or was it two? And they died at the hands of the Yoma, and after months of appeals to the council he was finally accepted as a Claymore. Fierce in combat, but defensive in nature, Piruson worked his way up the ranks, by merit and death of others. And now he was one of, if not the most, powerful male Claymores left. All males that died were being replaced by women, the why of which was beyond Piruson’s ken.

It was with warm loving memories of his wife still nestling in his mind, that Piruson woke when Kira stirred. “He-“ Piruson caught himself just prior to calling Kira by his long dead wife’s name. Kira’s eyes flashed at Piruson and he finished, “Hello. Sleep well?”

Receiving a grunt in response, Piruson popped out of bed and stretched, his muscles un-kinking in rapid succession, from his legs up. After a few minutes he had dressed and hid two daggers among the folds of his garments and headed to breakfast with Kira. Eating they chatted aimlessly about sites to see and people to meet up with all the while the inn keeper fretted and fussed over them like they were his children.

After their breakfast, Kira and Piruson started walking around the city and he was immediately aware of the eyes following them where ever they went. “Well dear it seems we will have to go to the temple afterall. After the marriage that should allay any suspicions of us being the silver eyed witches.”

He was about to turn toward the temple when Piruson saw the furtive movement of people up the block a little further. Brows furrowing, Piruson continued up the road until they came up onto a crowd, whispering in the hushed voices of fear. The palpable fear that could only mean a Yoma had attacked. Working their way through the crowd for a better look, Piruson saw the remnants of a savage attack.

[VampiricTouch]

She followed Piruson into the throng of murmuring people and turned away to hide her face in his tunic like that of a horrified lover... but her eyes missed nothing. The claw marks and puncture wounds told her that the man had died a merciful death. However his body had been disgraced after death, the man suffered little pain when the yoma killed him.

"There are three puncture wounds to his head. I doubt he even had the chance to scream. He was probably killed instantly to avoid any excess sound." She whispered into his tunic so that only Piruson could hear. Her shoulders trembled with feigned terror as her hands clenched tight on his shirt.

The guards arrived soon after to disperse the crowd, the action itself leaving the people uneasy as they were sent about their business. The pair stayed long enough to see the people estrange the family members of the poor man before they turned towards the temple of Ophylia.

The temple was indeed beautiful, with it's intricately carved columns and statues... Kira rested in Piruson's arms as they surveyed the artwork in the temple, the murals suggestive as it depicted the goddess bestowing her favor upon the mortal men. The paintings portrayed the goddess as presenting her blessing upon women as the goddess herself embodied the love making within their homes. Accurately portrayed in all the erotic pleasure that came with the goddess and her plenty.

"Can you believe a temple was made of such things...? Humans worship the oddest things sometimes." Kira murmured softly to Piruson as the two made their way to the altar and its priests.

Vows were renewed under the name of Ophylia, invoking her blessings upon the couple. Kira had been prepared to recite the words with the feigned ardor for her husband, but she was not prepared when the priest and priestesses escorted them into a backroom.... to seal the sanctity of their vows and ascertain the pleasures that came with Ophylia's favor.

The pair found themselves pushed into an ornate bedroom and the door closing behind them. The furnishings had once been lavish, telling of a city that had once been prosperous and devout to its goddess... but now, the arts were fading and the silken sheets were thinning. Kira noted none of this as she shifted her hold on the knife she'd kept concealed, and slammed it into the tapestry hanging beside the door - right over the goddess' groin. It was after blood seeped through to color the goddess' spread legs, like the sultry staining of a virgin bride, that Kira pulled her knife loose and the yoma crumpled to the ground.

"These yoma should at least learn to cover the stink of blood." She growled her distaste at ruining the only artwork she'd appreciated in the whole damn temple, "We've got work to do... The roofbeams!" It was the only warning she was able to give when another yoma dropped to the floor, scant inches from skewering her in half. The yoma was wearing the robes of a priest... as the balding spot on his head vanished, and the monster stood before her in it's ugly vicious form.