InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

csairdon efidi (remedying) wrote in ashkelon,
@ 2008-09-18 11:37:00

here there be humans (history log, Hizu)
He'd gotten quite used to the company of dwarves that these tall, skinnier races have taken him by shock and, to be so blunt about it, frightened him. Out in the lighter forests, picking herbs as he usually would, the bandits came out of nowhere and demanded for his goods and possessions, threatening him with knives and various other materials that completely slipped his mind as he stared at them with a deep black gaze. When they made for him, he did attempt to force them away and smacked one of them with the head of his walking staff but he soon found that it was a bad move and had only angered these filthy humans.

Which was how Csairdon Efidi found himself on the ground, without his walking staff (his only defense), and crawling backwards and further away from the dagger that was looming over him. If he could look even paler, he would have and if his abyss-like eyes could grow any bigger they would have. The humans were so much faster than he was and so much taller! With longer limbs and stockier built, they blocked away all his chances for escape and taunted him, calling him various names, some of which he hadn't been able to comprehend. They laughed at him, too.

And then the leader might have said something like, "Let's put an end to this, it's getting boring." he lifted his dagger.

That was when the frightened sidhe would shut his eyes tight, clench his fists hard and when the leaves would start to rustle from their roots...

(Post a new comment)

frostbit
2008-09-19 06:36 am UTC (link)

Hizumichi did not usually play hero, but there were some times where it just seemed necessary. He'd heard a commotion - not unusual on open roads, but a little stranger to hear in a forest - and followed the sounds to find a sight that made his hackles rise. It was hard to tell from size alone if a creature was capable of defending itself, but it was clear that the sidhe being besieged by the group of bandits was defenseless.

The first arrow buried itself in the shoulder of the man raising his dagger. The second thudded into the back of the man next to him, and that was all Hizumichi could manage before they'd turned and were looking for their unseen attacker.

He knew his third shot would miss - he was still too nervous about being caught in his human form and having to fight hand-to-hand to have a steady aim - so he didn't bother taking it. Instead, he laid the bow and arrows down carefully, and dropped back, shedding clothes and his human skin for a more comfortable form. The fox was even more sensitive to the sounds of the humans crashing through the brush, and even more annoyed and more defensive, which meant it didn't take much for Hizumichi to convince himself to continue his attack by launching himself at the next leg that tramped by his hiding spot. He sunk his teeth in as the man screamed and jumped back, and his companions quickly noticed the creature hanging on to their friend.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

remedying
2008-09-19 06:48 am UTC (link)

Even the sidhe had been frightened at the sudden sight of something white and furry and had scampered (or well, crawled) away from it when everyone was panicking -- but somehow, nothing connected. When Csairdon, to his joy, found arrows flying off from nowhere and attacking the bad men, he figured a dwarf or a good humanoid or basically someone with arms or limbs capable of handling the bow and arrow had come to save him.

Perhaps this animal was his friend?

It only occurred to him as he watched blood seep out from the fang wound and the leg-owner struggle from the beast. Snapping sounds would strike the air, half the arrows dropping to the soil as the bandits raced to aide their friend and kick his animal savior away. He couldn't let this happen!

Supple hands fisted themselves and in one smooth move, Csairdon flashed his palms over to the back of a bandit's collar and a spark of flame started and spread -- the human dancing and wailing at the heat. The moment this deed was done, he hurried to his feet and made for his fallen staff but a heavy hand had hoisted him off the ground and lifted him so high up. This time, the sidhe yelped although it was hoarse and shy. He punched, he kicked.

In his panic, roots began to pop out of the hard soil.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

frostbit
2008-09-19 11:43 pm UTC (link)

The scrap (it was far too disorganized to be called a fight, Hizumichi thought) was proving to be just full of surprises for everyone involved. No part of Hizumichi thought of fire as a good thing - the fox feared it instinctively and had no need of campfires at night, and the human spent most of his time in forests, where the scent of smoke could as easily be a bad sign as a signal that friends were nearby - so he shied away when he smelt the burning fabric and rising smoke, dislodging himself from the bandit's leg.

So the sidhe wasn't quite as defenseless as he'd thought, though it was clear as he watched one of the other men simply grab the little creature and lift him up that he was still woefully outmatched.

His next leaping attack was aimed for the side of the man holding the sidhe up, teeth snapping whatever he could catch and releasing again as his momentum swung him past. Turning as soon as he found his footing, he leaped again, this time at the bandit's arm with the intent of holding on and grinding down with his jaw.

He didn't want to kill any of them. There was no point to that; just escaping with the sidhe would be more than enough for him - he just hoped the bandits realized that he was just trying to get away unscathed with their victim.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

remedying
2008-09-20 12:17 am UTC (link)

There was so much angst and agony going around, he couldn't focus! Or perhaps he could blame it to the height of the bandit but he'd dropped and landed at a most unceremonious manner and Csairdon was quite sure he'll have to nurse a graze or two later at home -- although he could only feel grateful that the fox wasn't biting him.

He stood up, started to run, then tripped when he stepped on his robe. With thanks to the white-furred mammal, the humans have lost interest on him and so escaping (as he was so used to) could be done with so much more ease. But the mere thought of leaving his savior (nevermind the fact that he abandoned his father's body when he was beheaded) like that felt ungrateful and so he stopped mid-run...and turned left, then right.

Left or right, left or right...which bush was thicker??

The one to his left opened up to a cave when he ambled towards it, tossing in his walking stick and then crawling inside (thank the gods for his size!). Forcing his hat onto his head, he watched the battle from his distanced position, crouched beneath the leaves folding to conceal the pale body they hid.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

frostbit
2008-09-23 04:12 am UTC (link)

The sidhe seemingly vanished, dropping to the ground and disappearing quickly into the forest, or perhaps he just seemed to because Hizumichi was too preoccupied to keep an eye o him. He could only trust that the little creature had gotten himself to safety, because the time to bail out of this fight was quickly approaching. The men had undoubtedly realized that the fox was their only opponent - there was no mystery archer still lurking in the forest - and he had no intention of dying for the sidhe.

He jumped away as soon as he could, but was met with a stomping foot that he barely avoided. Cursing to himself at his strategic foolishness, he attempted to dart through a break in the boots and knives that were being brandished in his general direction, only to be snatched up by the scruff of his neck.

The world had barely stopped spinning before a blade flashed toward him and he twisted desperately as it sliced across his stomach, biting, but not as deeply as it would've if he hadn't moved. A whine escaped at the pain, but the time for bemoaning wounds would have to wait. He was too helpless like this, but becoming human wouldn't help him here. Halfway human, though... he grew slightly, skin bulging out as his fur seemed to thin, ears shrinking, tails growing, snout seeming to melt - and the man dropped him. Whether it was because of Hizumichi's increasing weight or the monstrous creature he was becoming he didn't care, as long as he was able to roll away, loping awkwardly as his shapeshifting reversed itself and he shrank to a normal-sized fox form again.

Getting away was good enough, and as soon as he was hidden from view in the undergrowth, the men seemed to lose interest. A three-tailed fox and a sidhe weren't worth the trouble it would take to catch them, or the trouble that might follow, after all. As they tramped away, Hizumichi breathed a sigh of relief through his nose and crept out into the open again, wincing as the movement tugged at the wound he'd gotten.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

remedying
2008-09-23 04:57 am UTC (link)

Oh, he got wounded!

The sight of the fresh blood cutting through stark white fur (or what ideally was one) did not help the tension Csairdon was already feeling and he only grabbed the rim of his hat tighter as he watched on. Whatever the fox did to get off the grip had pretty much escaped him, though, as his thoughts were filled with how his savior had gotten wounded because of his incapability to fight.

Well, it wasn't his fault he was, at the least, a foot shorter than those bad men!

He waited for them to disappear and in his silent search for the fox had breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he found that it was still there. One could not go out into the wild bleeding, after all! Who knew what minotaurs were in the mood for these days...

The leaves released him from their secured embrace and grabbing his walking stick, he hobbled over to the fox, quick with his eyes to assess the injury. Not that he had a serious knowledge on medication but he was quite confident with his experience with herbs and was certain he could abate the pain and bleeding until he took him to town.

Although...Csairdon remembered that even after living past the age of 90, he had never, even once, spoken to a fox. This was going to be a bit of a predicament...

His uncertainty was so obvious with the way he just stood there and stared at the fox for a good moment.

He did finally manage to get his thoughts together when he approached the wounded side and dropped to his knees, light fingers touching the surrounding fur, quite careful not to worsen the damage. From how he saw it, it wasn't enough to kill the fox immediately if left untreated but would still take time to heal...

"You got hurt here?" he mentally scolded himself for stating the obvious but it was a start! "Stay put," he added, still in his whispered, husky voice and ignoring the fox's lack of response (although he shouldn't even have thought of asking it...). His stuffs were scattered when the bandits had attacked him but he had gotten to his smaller bag swiftly enough and brandished a roll of gauze and a little later, a pouch before he returned to the fox, setting them carefully onto the pool his coat made when he sat on the ground.

Before he got to the business of unrolling his gauze, however, he took his walking stick and with a flick of his wrist had opened its head to reveal a hollow space his fingers combed through for the sharp, hidden leaves. He placed them on his palm, shifted through them as though to check the quantity, then laying a careful hand on the base of the fox's neck offered the herbs for the animal to eat. "Take these, they should alleviate the pain."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

frostbit
2008-10-16 10:45 pm UTC (link)

One of the problems with such pretty white fur was that everything looked dramatically worse than it felt - or that was what tended to happen. This wound didn't feel particularly fatal, but Hizumichi wasn't too proud to accept help when it could be useful. He certainly didn't want to be traveling with an untreated wound.

So when the little sidhe offered him the herbs, he took them with a cursory sniff. Nothing seemed amiss, either by scent, or by whatever sense warned him of danger, so he obediently (if a little hesitantly, since he did not normally eat plants in his fox form) chewed and swallowed and then peered at the sidhe as if he expected something to happen. And well, maybe he did, a little. Healing was something of a mystery to him; kitsune were not the best equipped for applying poultices and bandages when they were hurt, let alone finding combinations of plants that would help a fever or injury.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

remedying
2008-10-16 11:43 pm UTC (link)

Csairdon misread that gaze, though, seeing it only as a message that the fox had already eaten his herbs so that he unrolled the strips of gauze now, tearing one out sized enough to cover the wound which he then filled with the varying contents of the pouch which he grounded with his fingers before spreading them through out the whiter sheet.

The bigger predicament now was how to put them on the wound without spilling.

For awhile there, the sidhe hesitated, wondering if he should just put the herbs onto the wound itself but decided otherwise and went on with his first plan as carefully as he could. Some of the larger pieces fell off but very soon, the gauze would be on and he would be doing what he can to secure it.

A little later, the wound would have been hidden and "patched" although someone could have probably done a better job on it...

(Reply to this) (Parent)