Beauty and Beasts (Danielle)

The colony of Eirini had indeed suffered a great blow from the battle that had come and gone through it. The usually laid back and worried free people now worked harder than ever to get their home back into some form of its original state. The injured and the dead were taken care of by the medical teams that had been sent out to aid the people, while construction was handled by small groups of civilians that had pulled together for the job.

Despite the blow that had been dealt, the people managed to keep their smiles upon their faces. After all, their maiden had more or less stayed in the colony; however, the condition she was in was questionable. Even so, the people kept hope as they continued to work and build.

While the main area of the colony was busy with life, further away in the quiet fields of farmland such chaos did not seem to exist. It was uncertain what exactly the machine-like beast were after, but if it was taking out the colony then they had failed in both cases. First off the maiden was still here and secondly, the source of food and life in this place remained untouched.

Was this perhaps a lucky roll of the dice or simply part of whatever plan was up the enemies’ sleeve?

A curious question, but one that would soon be dismissed by the creature that stood in the quiet fields of well maintained grass. Crimson eyes would watch the animals here graze about without a worry in the world before they were closing as the being they belonged to began to move again. The being would find a stump in the field and after making sure there were no bugs to crush, the hunter would sit on the stump.
It would remain still for a moment before opening a small tear in space and from that space pulling out a harp of black and white material and strange silver strings. Closing the portal, the being would tune the harp before playing a melody. As the soft music filled the field, slowly small animals began to gather around the hunter – rabbits, birds, and even a small deer. As the animals gathered to graze, the hunter continued to play the melody.
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The hunter would continue to play the harp for a while longer not really enjoying or hating the sound it produced from the instrument. The creatures that had gathered would continue their peaceful ways until quite abruptly the small deer would look up with wide eyes. As it did it would rear up, turn and then flee the area. The other animals took notice of this and within a second, they too would scatter around the field; however, unlike normal creatures these creatures would fade out of existence like ghosts or illusions.

The trigger for their panic? A strange girl that had entered the area and decided to join in on listening to the music.

Elegant snow white fingers with black painted finger nails would halt their movement across the harp’s strings as crimson eyes opened and shifted to the girl. She was no monster…and yet she seemed to give off a strange air that suggested she wasn’t just some commoner either. Curious or perhaps simply polite, the woman lowered her small harp to her lap as she studied the girl.

The area became quiet. The only things that broke the silence were the wind, the distant chirp of birds, and of course the almost inaudible hum of the pink barrier that protected the area from the beast in the wilds beyond. In this silence the woman studied the child that studied her. The crimson eyes did not judge only observe.

After a moment, the woman would blink and then bow her head lightly at the child. Perhaps this was a greeting or maybe a bow after a performance. Whatever the bow meant, the woman had now taken full notice of the girl and acknowledged her existence…

Disturbed.

That was the sensation that washed off the child that had come into the area to listen to the music. Like anyone who approached the hunter, the girl could see the animals while they grazed. Could see them when they fled and then simply vanished. The woman who was used to this occurrence was unphased by the actions of the creatures and even more unphased by the reaction of the girl. She reacted like anyone would in this situation.

So as the girl composed herself the quiet musician watched her with crimson eyes and a blank stare. Even when the girl approached with caution and spoke this attitude did not change.

To the compliment, the woman gave the child a slow blink before looking at the ground.

“…Thank you…” the woman said in soft tones, her way of speaking unhurried, and yet somehow humble all the same. When the girl tried to put on a brave face and introduce herself, crimson eyes would drift to her outstretched hand as the head tilted slightly. Was the hunter supposed to do something to the hand, or was the girl offering the woman something?

The woman would blink at this strange gesture before looking back up at the girl slightly perplexed.

“Da..ni..elle Br…ooks. Pretty…Pleasure…meet,” the woman began her words slow and broken as she gave the girl a polite nod.

“Name….?” the creature would pause for a moment as if in thought, then coming out whatever thought it had it resume speaking. “Mmm…Sephtis…” the creature would finish as it kept crimson eyes on the girl. The eyes would narrow a bit not with malice or suspicion, but curiosity instead.

“Why ‘ave…oo come?” the woman would ask the girl curious as to why she had come all the way out in the fields. Was she escaping something or did she simply have time to waste? In either case, the woman was unbothered by the girl’s presence.

Shake the hand? How curious. Was this something that was customary to this time frame? Or had the hunter perhaps missed something in its observations over the years?

The woman tilted her head at the words a bit perplexed about the idea; however, despite not understanding the reasoning behind such an action, a pale hand would move from its resting place upon the harp and take the child’s hand in a grip of its own. The grip was firm, but not harmful and the touch cool instead of warm. Despite the odd differences, the woman would gently shake the other’s hand as instructed before letting it go with a light blink.

“…Did tat…’eal somefink?” the woman would ask in her unusual speech pattern as she watched the child for a bit curious about this strange custom. Regardless of whatever answer came from this, the hunter would push it aside as it instead focused on the way the child reacted to the compliment about her name. The child seemed to become embarrassed or something by the compliment for the smile given was not the usual one that signified joy….and yet she seemed happy despite the oddness of the smile.

To her thank you, the hunter would only nod lightly before spotting the warm smile on the other’s face. On instinct, the unreadable features of the woman softened in response to the smile. Perhaps it was a sign she had relaxed in her own way now that names and pleasantries had been exchanged. Or maybe she was simply matching the air the child gave off. It was hard to know or say. In any case, the girl seemed to be on good footing with the strange woman for the time being….so there was no need for worry as far as attacks or other hostilities went. A good start indeed.

“Sephie….?” the woman tried the name out herself seeing how it sounded. It was odd on the ears for sure, but the hunter supposed if that was easier for the girl to say than its full name, then it could handle that. “Mmm…be fine, Dani…elle…” the woman would say after a moment, giving the child a light smile in the process.

Whether the smile was for pleasure or something else was debatable; however, the small action would fade as the conversation shifted to reasons of being in the field. To the girl’s response, the hunter’s eyes would narrow with the soft smile it gave to the other. This child was sweet much like the boy it had run into when it had first awoken in this world.

Such a shame…the hunter would think as the child asked about its own reason for being here. Its smile would fade as the reasons for its existence came back to it with the question. It still had something to decide did it not? The hunter was quiet for a moment and then slowly it would response.

“…Debating fate…of self…of world…” the creature said before trailing off as it looked off to the side at the ground, pondering some thought tumbling in its mind.

“..Greeting…” the woman repeated taking in this new data. Outside of bowing and verbal greetings the idea of touching in any form was quite foreign to the creature. If something was touching the hunter…well then that meant it was probably trying to kill it and got lucky in the strike. That thought aside, the creature would tilt its head to the left at the smile before it gave a light smile of its own to the girl. Honestly, it was hard not mimic the action. There was something so nice about it. So very, very sweet..The hunter both loved and loathed the feelings, but despite the conflict within, the creature kept its emotions well guarded only showing what it wanted to show. Nothing more nothing less.

When the girl offered an easier version of her name, the woman would nod. “…Okay, Dani.” it would say, the first fluid statement it made despite the bad pacing of words. After a moment, the creature would blink. “…You….have many friends…?” the creature asked the other as it watched her quietly. Groups of people could be dangerous…and yet numbers had benefits. Too bad the hunter knew nothing of these benefits, but…it could always be taught a new trick or two.

The hunter would remain more or less curious before the mood shifted when the conversation came to why the hunter was out in the field. To the girl's first set of words, the hunter simply shook its head. No, she had not done anything wrong by asking her question. She was free to do that. Just as she was free to do what she wanted….or so the creature thought. When it heard the girl’s next set of words, the hunter eyes would drift back to her.

“People….” the creature would say the word before letting out a slow chuckle that was cold and biting. “People…never there. Not for us….” it would say to the other before blinking at the girl's unfinished sentence.

“Saying…different…you? Not see it…” the hunter would respond flatly as a frown came upon its face. It wasn’t that the creature was trying to be rude or anything. It was just in its line of existence no one had ever been there for it. Hell, it took years just to become acceptable in the people’s eyes and get to a point where it could at least exist in the same space as them without being hunted. How the girl saw any hope in any form of being outside of herself was beyond this creatures comprehension.

“Strange…cust..om, but..I…urmm… the woman paused her slow speech for a moment. Now what was that word again? Hrmmm.. “I…m-m…Oh! Yes. I ‘member tat,” the creature said with a light nod and a rather pleased smile. It had taken a while, but it finally was making some progress on getting back into the flow of full speech again. After years of not using words, it was a bit of a challenge to keep them all in line. Despite the hicc-ups the hunter remained unphased as it looked back at the girl its smile still in place. “Dani…knows uch. Teacher? You?” it asked trying to understand if the girl just knew the knowledge simply from being in this world or if she had someone who taught her the ways of the world.

As for the trust part…

“Tr..ust? So soon? Tr..ust, meh?” the hunter asked quite amazed that the people of this world gave things such at that so freely. Was the world really that open and safe now? Huh…how strange. It appeared the creature still had much to adapt in this new place it had wound up in. And it would appear the oddities didn’t end there. The girl herself was quite the odd one. So kind and trusting. Even encouraging when something was done right. The air she gave off was soothing and easy to relax in…and yet terrifying at the same time.

“Hmph…Sephtis try,” the creature responded back as it gave her lopsided smirk for a few brief seconds before becoming serious again when the subject turned to people and friends. As it heard her words, the hunter would keep a neutral expression on its face as she spoke of the few people that she had around her, but when it heard her other words the creature’s elegant eyebrows would furrow.

“…Few days…chaos. You there, yes?” the woman asked her tone monotone and serious as crimson eyes gazed not at the girl, but in the direction of the world beyond the barriers that protected the people. It had woken up due to sensing chaos in the world and ended up here. It had seen the aftermath of whatever had happened, but never had a hint of the how. Now this girl seemed to be its ticket to answers, but would she answer if asked to go into more detail?

The hunter would keep thinking on this for a few moments until quite unexpectedly it was shaken back to reality as it heard the girl’s response to its lot when it came to people. To her first set of words, crimson eyes would turn back to her as the hunter tilted its head. A confused expression appeared on its face as it studied her not comprehending what it had heard. This kid…was she actually pitying it for its lot in life? And what was that?

“Neh?” was the first sound that came out of the hunter’s mouth and pretty much the sound that summoned up the confusion. This kid wanted to be friends with Sephtis just like that? But…but…

“Why ake chan wiff person like us?” the hunter asked truly lost as how to react to this. Yes, it had indeed learned to blend, but someone actually wanting to be its friend? It had never heard of something so bizarre in its life. Could something like itself actually have a friend and if it did take the chance would she really stay…even if the truth was unveiled at some point in time? The questions kept coming, but some part of the hunter was actually intrigued by this rather odd development.

Sephtis would tilt its head one way and then the other as the girl chuckled about the strange custom that was hand shaking. It wasn’t that it didn’t like the sound or anything. No it was quite pleasant. It was just it wasn’t used it and so for a moment didn’t know how to react; however, after a few seconds, the woman’s features would relax into a small lopsided smirk. What a curious, curious creature this girl was, and yet the hunter kind of liked her oddness. It was charming so to speak.

In any case, the hunter would listen quietly as the other spoke about teaching and how she had learned what she did. She seemed to not think herself a good teacher and yet from the few moments Sephtis had spent with the girl, the hunter had learned much.

“Mmm..ma’be under…est...” the hunter paused and shook its head. No that was getting too hard to say. Try again. “You be good teacher…” it would say after a moment of thought its odd speech pattern never changing. Maybe if she tried enough, the girl could be a teacher if that is what she desired of course.

When it came to the issue of trust, the hunter found itself becoming highly confused. The girl trusted it because it was pleasant to be around? Because it hadn’t done anything to make her not trust it? How nice it must be to give trust, even the smallest bit, that easily. The hunter itself would not do the same, but then again… Maybe that was because it and she came from very different worlds. The creature would consider this for a moment as a pale finger tapped its chin.

A light "hmph" and a small smile would be the final response to it all. Apparently, the differences amused the creature in some fashion, but why that was was questionable. In any case, the situation would move from light hearted to serious when the subject turned to battle. To the girl’s words, Sephtis would give her a unreadable look.

“…Woke up….Chaos already here, but then…stop…” the creature would pause as its eyes narrowed lightly at her. She was a curious creature…even more curious now if she had actually been in the middle of that fight. Just how did she survive when the colony looked like it was about to come toppling down? "How you and friends stop Chaos?"

The hunter would fall silent after that to see if she would answer. If she didn’t answer, the hunter would simply leave the subject alone, but if she did answer….

Whatever came out of that was left to be seen. Whether the hunter received answers or not, the conversation would come back around to the friendship. To her words, the hunter gave her a blank stare at first and then quiet unexpectedly a cold smirk that did not match the innocent demeanor would appear on the woman’s face.

“Hm.Hm.Hm…” the chuckle was slow and low each sound shifting the air around them and making it cold. The woman would stand the harp falling from her lap as she did so. As the harp fell, the item would hit the ground and turn into black wisps before vanishing.

“Then hide no more,” the woman would say as she took a few steps to the right of the rock. As she moved strange dark wisps surrounded the woman shifting and making the form disoriented. Underneath the strange darkness, Sephtis was changing, hints of something not quite human peeked out here and there, but what it was never fully revealed itself as the wisps kept the form hidden for a few moments longer. The disoriented figure would continue to move to the right before stopping about six feet away from the girl.

The wind would blow, blowing away the wisp and revealing a person completely different than before. This form was heavily covered in cloth and clearly not a woman. The scent of death washed off of the being and a strange almost threatening aura filled the area, radiating from where the hunter stood; however, the hunter made no move to harm the girl.

“Tell me…can you befriend a beast?” the hunter would ask the speech pattern as slow as always, but the voice soft and masculine. From there, he would hold out his left hand summoning from the dark wisps a strange cane that even the untrained eye could tell was not used for walking on. Gloved fingers would grip the item as eyes hidden under the shadows of the hat watched the girl.


“...”

The hunter's positioning would shift as he pushed off the ground and came towards the girl. As he neared her, he would raise the cane to unleash a downward slash towards her right shoulder....

Sephtis is attacking, but why?

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Despite sweetness and easily getting along, the hunter kept its heart locked to the girl. It would take the information it was given in. So the girl and the ones that had saved the place had some form of power that had helped them stop the chaos that had woken it? How very curious. And this other friend she made mention of...Was her words implying something more about the friend that had saved her and if so what?

“See…” Sephtis would say in a quiet tone as it pondered her words. It wasn’t sure, but maybe through some more talking it could get answers, but from the way the air around the girl bent maybe she wouldn’t give all the facts here and now. Expected considering they were not friends nor did they know each other well; however, this would matter very little a few moments later. When the girl asked to be friends with Sephtis, her words at first caused confusion, but then hearing her other words the hunter found the girl was genuine in what she was asking…

And it was this genuine nature that set the hunter off. On one hand, it wanted to trust in the words, but one the other it couldn’t imagine such a thing happening. Not able to understand which was right, Sephtis decided to settle the matter once and for all in the only manner it knew how to: a fight.

Its aim? Simple. Find out if the girl’s offer was true or not, so the creature had shifted back into its hunter form and made its attack. The girl’s reaction to the attack was a beauty. With speed and precision, she managed to counter the strike with a move her own, forcing the hunter’s weapon down and to the side as the twist automatically caused the hand to loosen and drop the cane. The item would clatter to the ground.

The being heard the girl’s words, but did not respond to them. Instead, it would use the move that had brought them close together to its advantage. Without warning, the hunter would yank the arm that had been forced downward. If the girl still held onto it, then the move should’ve knocked her off balance or if not at least pulled her to the hunter.

If she was pulled forward, the hunter would twist the arm in the child’s grip, so that his gloved hand grasped her arm. As he was doing this his body would shift and lower as he turned so that his shoulder would meet the girl’s body in a spot directly between her gut and lower chest. Using momentum and hopefully her off balanced nature, he continue to move forward getting himself under the girl before shifting again to toss the girl to the ground. If it worked she’d be slammed into the ground. If she managed to escape well then…

"I no comprehend," the hunter told her in a monotone voice before moving back and falling into a defensive stance. "Come. Show," he said watching her.

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