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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 0:26:18 GMT -5
It was so rare to see Lei out of sorts like that. Thrade shook her head, running her fingers through his hair lightly. "Shade is right, it's men like him- whose greed and ambition outweighs their capability -that cause even more damage than the worse warlord."
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Post by Jenny on Jul 21, 2012 0:36:55 GMT -5
He chuckled a little and rubbed his temples. “He’s a nuisance, that’s what he is.” Lei shook his head. “The last warlord we encountered had all the qualities that Shinji lacks in every way, and thank the gods we triumphed. And I do not believe he was insane, just determined. Clearly Shinji borders on insanity, and that insanity is quite volatile. There is no reasoning with people like him. At least that warlord had a sense of honor. If there is no reason there will be no surrender. Much like the fable that a wolf may still make a death blow if it is dead, men like Shinji will continue destruction even when their head is on the block.”
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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 0:38:15 GMT -5
"Which is why they're so dangerous. Not that I'm worried about that one in particular." Thrade curled around him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. She was looking pale again, and tired.
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Post by Jenny on Jul 21, 2012 0:40:21 GMT -5
“This journey has been rough on you,” Lei noted at her paleness. “It will do us good to sleep in our own bed rather than letting our bodies lie against the hard ground.” He brushed a hand along her cheek. “Are you unwell, my love?”
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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 0:42:53 GMT -5
"I'm fine...." She hastened to assure him, not wanting to add to his list of worries at the moment. Shinji was causing him enough stress. "Just holding onto an animal form for so long, I think..." She didn't feel sick so much as...distracted. She kept finding her eyes drifting toward the horizon looking for something she didn't know what.
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Post by Jenny on Jul 21, 2012 0:48:41 GMT -5
“There is no need to hide yourself any longer, since Shiguen is no longer alive. But perhaps tomorrow you should ride with me and give your body a chance to rest itself without taking on a form.”
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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 0:49:52 GMT -5
She chuckled. "I only have my shifter skins and I don't want to scandalize the the people of Kyoto more than I already have."
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Post by Jenny on Jul 21, 2012 0:56:11 GMT -5
“Then you may wear one of my kimono.” He chuckled. It was taboo in their culture to allow women to wear men’s clothing, and tomboys who insisted were gossiped about. But Lei had made it quite clear that Thrade was equal to men, and no soldier in his party would turn their nose up at her. On the contrary, she had earned the greatest of their respect. “Please, do. I would find greater comfort if you were to ride with me tomorrow.”
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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 0:59:39 GMT -5
"Oh, you just had to pick the one thing you know I wouldn't say no to," she grumbled, though there was no real annoyance in it. She laid her head on his shoulder, reassured by his presence. There were times in the past few days she'd wanted to be near Lei only because he seemed something real to cling to, though where that thought came from she wasn't sure.
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Post by Jenny on Jul 21, 2012 1:03:51 GMT -5
Lei grinned. He hadn’t been baiting her, he was just speaking the truth. But that paleness truly did concern him, and that look that had been in her eyes when she cut her sentence off. Lei settled himself down and kissed Thrade as she curled up beside him and nuzzled her lovingly. “Good night, my love. I can face tomorrow now that I know you are with me.”
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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 1:09:37 GMT -5
"Always, Lei." She held onto him long after he drifted off, watching him sleep for a bit. A marriage, the binding of two people together completely, was unheard of among her father's people. The fae's culture made it practically taboo, seeing it as a trap. And it was even worse, her marriage, because it was to a human. They were wrong...so wrong. The fae took pleasure wherever and whenever they wanted it, but that simply didn't compare to the love she held for this man. She kissed his forehead gently, feeling the distraction and unease of the past few days fade away as she curled against his side and drifted off herself. "Always."
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Post by Jenny on Jul 21, 2012 1:22:29 GMT -5
Every man in that camp knew they would soon arrive in Kyoto. It was a blessing for the soldiers but could very well be a death sentence for the prisoners. None of them slept, they kept eyeing the soldiers, toying with the idea of trying to make a break for it. They spoke to each others in hushed whispers, and if one were to listen carefully, the prisoners were two sided. Some wanted to attempt escape, others were trying to talk them out of it, for if they were caught they’d surely be put to death.
“Quiet over there,” one of the patrol men ordered, raising his spear to remind them that they were being watched.
The prisoners hushed, many faces working with suppressed rage, or pale anxiety. Minutes of silence passed, and they started whispering fervently again. Suddenly one of them jerked to his feet, beginning to run.
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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 1:26:39 GMT -5
He made it another two steps before Shade appeared out of nowhere and rammed a dagger into his chest with one sharp, utterly vicious move, ending his life in the space of two seconds, letting the body drop, and vanishing again. The calm expression on her face and the burning in her eyes were at odds with each other but it added up to the same thing: she really wanted to kill something. Despite the ease in which she had taunted Shinji earlier, Shade's mood had not improved over the past few days, she seemed to be sinking deeper into an unhappy mire, only pulled out of it in sudden flashes of anger like this. Provoking her at this point was a death sentence.
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Post by Jenny on Jul 21, 2012 1:38:44 GMT -5
The remaining prisoners who had plotted their escape shuddered in fear. Those that wanted to stay and try their chances with the emperor’s mercy exhaled in relief. But those of them that had been friends with the man killed just now gave general murmurs of discontent, all though it had been his own fault he was killed for such a fool hearty move.
The patrol men who had made a move to follow nodded in thanks to Shade, and they too were uneasy at her presence. They did not see her enough to get used to her, and the fact that she could disappear made them a bit jumpy. How fortunate, they thought, that she was on their side.
Shinji had peeked out of his tent at the commotion, and frowned in deep disapproval for what had happened. Losing a man wasn’t what bothered him, for anyone besides himself was expendable, but it was the reaffirmation that he had no chance of getting out of there alive, not while on foot any way. Did that assassin even sleep? He withdrew into the tent quickly, not giving Shade a reason to hurt him as well.
In the morning, the eyes of the prisoners were heavy with lack of sleep, and many a soldier too. Thoughts both positive and negative ran through every one’s mind. The prisoners were getting too desperate for comfort. As they headed out, there were more soldiers flanking the prisoners on horseback than was necessary, but Lei allowed them to do as they wished.
He was just happy to have Thrade riding along with him, her arms around his waist. His mood was much lighter with her presence. He did not give Shinji even a second glance. He had been told, of course, of the prisoner’s escape attempt and death, and he gave a small smile and a nod to Shade in thanks.
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Post by KD on Jul 21, 2012 1:44:32 GMT -5
Thrade was aware of several curious glances in her direction...it was likely the longest look many both prisoner and soldier had gotten of her in her real form....but she didn't mind. With Lei's mood so much lighter, she didn't mind much of anything at the moment.
Shade, perhaps to unnerve the prisoners and warn them further, was also staying in full sight, walking alongside the procession on the side of the road, always keeping unerringly within sight of Shinji and the prisoners.
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