Midnight Strolling Around the Lake [Kangae]

[Adam Kohaku]

The night dominated the landscape. Many did not travel all the way out to Emerald Lake on such a night for fear of the predators that lurked there. However, this was precisely the reason why Adam Kohaku was walking all the way to the lake at such a time. He was looking for a few wolves to show off to the Oakum beauty he had tagging along at his side.

Kangae. What a noble woman. She took on every characteristic of a noble right down to the complicated core of hers. She was beautiful, almost doll like, and held a strange majesty that one could not simply place. She had wanted to see the wolves, and the wolf hunter had held his offer out to her for free.

He was not worried about the noble. She could take care of her own if they were confronted by a wolf or two. Hell, he could protect her regardless. He was one of the best hunters out there; he could protect her and himself without any problems.

“Here we are,” Adam said as they arrived in the area. He looked over to his female companion. “There will be wolves; I am positive on that.”

[oakumnoble1]

The woman let her gaze sweep across the landscape. It was difficult to tell, but she seemed to be taking the lake in with a half-lidded sort of awe; the vodka losing its strength and replacing reckless speech with sleepiness.

Something was egging the back of her mind. Ah.. her purpose here. Well, it could hardly be conducted in the middle of the night.

That whole issue was tangled enough as it could be, as she absently brushed the hair that was not caught within her pony tail back behind her ears.

A guarantee, hmm? Well, even if they were not her primary issue, she may be one to a Wolf.

"Well. Do you simply call one then? Or look for tracks?"

She looked across the horizon again, the glow of the lake, faint from this position, reflecting in her eyes with something else as she half knelt, hand down and finger splayed to the earth. Her question must have been rehtorical. Her lips moved in a reverent whisper, and though there was no physical sign to be seen, there was an odd change, for a moment, in what felt like air pressure.

"Well, it is definite many have crossed this way and back again, though less back then forward." She rest her hand now finally on the grass. Oakum magic. The woman seemed to nearly radiate it. No wonder the Darcia family wanted them wiped off the map - they themselves were too much like the glamour-filled wolves.

Though why they were enemies from the start was anyone's guess.

She looked up at him. "I somehow doubt they simply come to you, unless you're that skilled in hunting them."

[Adam Kohaku]

Adam let out a sigh as he looked over to the noble. She knew nothing about wolves. Perhaps she knew nothing about beasts in general. Animals were very sensitive creatures. They could smell, hear, taste, see, and feel with more awareness than humans could ever possess. Nobles even underestimated the abilities animals possessed.

“Only wolves who think they are dogs would come up to you if you called them,” Adam remarked. “No, we have to look for them and be quiet about it. Wolves are very sensitive which makes them a challenge to hunt. They can also be very clever and very strong.”

The wolf hunter stepped forward looking about. Wolves had been here. There were tracks in the dirt, and the grass had recently been disturbed. Pieces of fur had been snagged by the tall grass and branches. There was a wolf somewhere around the lake at the moment. Adam would just have to find the creature.

“They also hate nobles,” he told her in a hushed voice. “So, maybe you could act less like one, or try not to flash your aura about. They can tell the difference between a noble and a human easily. They probably have already caught hold of your scent. You stand out more than you should, Kangae.”

[oakumnoble1]

"Perhaps you are simply more sensitive than you think."

The woman seemed to take the hint however. She remained kneeling, and reached into her robe, pulling free something that glimmered in the near darkness.

It was a mask.

Her act would seem to be the exact opposite of becoming less obtrusive on the landscape, but when the Commander of Oakum's army rest the smooth, markless oval against her townturned face, a glamer slid over her form, making her a mere outline in the darkness.

No... there was more than that. But only if the hunter focused, and only because, in a sense, he knew of her presence already.

She stood; soundless, markless upon the landscape, only a mere glitter from her seemingly countour-free mask picking up the light from the lake in the darkness.

It was enough to make one wonder what she had meant before, about not being alone.

"Hidden eough now? So, show me." Her voice was ethereal, almost as formless as her silouhette now, a whisper tickling Adam's left ear. "Show me then how you wage war, Adam."

[Adam Kohaku]

The wolf hunter watched the noble’s movements as she pulled out a mask and seemed to almost disappear into the scenery. Well, that would work. As long as the animals knew nothing of her presence around the lake, they would be fine.

To wolves, Adam may have appeared as a hunter, but he was not as easily found to be a noble. He smelled, acted, and appeared more like a wolf than he would ever like a noble. That was their difference. He could blend in with society while Kangae seemed to stick out more so than anything. She had features that seemed to not be human. Her beauty was beyond most beauty he had found in normal women. He wondered if she realized this or if she was oblivious.

“It will have to work,” the hunter said to her before bounding forward. He paused, glancing back at where the noble had been standing. “And it is not war I wage. It’s nothing but work.”

Adam sent a smile in her direction before continuing over towards the lake. He could follow tracks without even looking down upon the ground. He had an acquired sense of such things. It seemed that there was an invisible rope tied around his being, and it was pulling him towards where the wolf was.

A disturbance in the grass. The snap of a branch upon the ground. A beast was about and close; close enough to where Adam could almost smell the wolf. Dark blues eyes moved off to the right, surveying the area that was now presented before them. Dark gray fur could be seen and soon the body of a wolf came into focus. The wolf was leaning down to drink from the water. The wolf was an adult, full grown and full of strength. The creature would put up a fight, but would still have no chance even with Adam’s injured wrist.

The hunter rushed forward; his good hand drew one of his katanas. The blade slashed through the air and connected with a back leg. The wolf became aware a bit too late but was still able to jump back and view his attacker with fierce golden eyes. The battle had begun.

[oakumnoble1]

It's nothing but work.

My, what a simple way to think of it.

She followed, a shadow on the landscape. This particular glamer was not her style. She was a beacon; to both her men and her enemies. She was a harbinger on a battlefield, an image of inspiration or death - depending on who was looking, she would appear as she was meant to - a family blessing and also a curse. But there had been times for this before, and so, she remained hidden.

She made no audible answer at the moment, simply tailing the hunter, her footsteps matching his light marks in the grass, the faint trace he left behind.

She watched his hand raise to his shoulder, drawing that slender length of death from his back and swinging in one smooth motion that would make any teacher proud. Regardless, she watched the animal move, like quicksilver, like rain.

Work, indeed.

The woman merely stood, watching, blending with the stars and the earth, yet her right hand set just apart from her nearly invisible wraith-like silouhette. She was no fool to think her disguise was impermeable. Yet, what she could or would do with that free hand was anyone's guess.

Why this wholesale slaughter ordered by Darcia? Really, it made no sense, and ultimately was the antithesis of the final goal, unless the man had something else up his sleeve. The Commander narrowed her eyes behind her mask. There had not been many reports from the Stronghold as to how the families were progressing with their lastest aquisition from the darcia Clan. Perhaps she should check in to see if there were any clues there to these wild orders on the battlefield.

For whether Adam realized it or not, he was on a battlefield, be he uniformed or no, regardless of what the young man decided to do with his pay at the end of a day.

She envied his ignorance - though suspected it was, like hers often was - self imposed.

[Adam Kohaku]

Blue eyes met amber eyes as the two stared at each other. Such fiery came from this wolf, such life. He did not want to die. Maybe he had a purpose. Something to live for in a world where most wolves became dogs. Adam’s heart almost went out for the animal, but he had no time for such feelings. He had no sympathy for the beast. This was what he had to do, so he did it.

The wolf came charging, every tooth in his mouth visible. The hunter stepped forward as the beast lunged upward, going for the neck and what would be considered a fatal blow. Adam acted with such speed and precision. He side stepped the attack and the metal of his blade pierced through the creature’s stomach. The wolf went down, falling upon the ground.

This was what Adam did for a living. He was a coldhearted killer. He hadn’t always been as such, but working for Darcia had made him as such. Darcia was only happy with him and his siblings when they brought home a few heads. Only blood could please such a monster. Darcia had given his little family everything they could have ever asked for. They did as they were told regardless of their personal feelings. Darcia had made them who they were, and he could easily break them.

Killing wolves, that was just work. Nothing more, nothing less. Adam hunted for money.

The wolf laid dying upon the ground, and Adam stepped up. He kept his distance; injured wolves could be as dangerous as a normal wolf. Such anger in his eyes, in his being. This wolf wanted Adam dead, and the hunter understood this.

“You’ll find your peace,” the wolf hunter said before piercing his blade through the wolf one last time. A mercy strike.

[oakumnoble1]

The body heaved and shuddered its last, and then - there, fingers trailed along its fur and wounds - first appearing gloved, but no. They were the fingers of the noblewoman Kangae, now glistening with the animals blood. She stood again, turning toward the hunter. She held up her bloodied hand, the liquid trailing down her fingers to her palm, which she held facing him.

"Is this your paradise, Adam?" It was a joke of a question, not truly meant to be answered. She turned her hand, tilting her masked face in a seemingly critical way. "Strange, it looks oddly familiar."

The mask looked up at him, or seemed to. The black almond shaped device - there could be no other word for it - covered her face seamlessly, only her crown of golden hair now slowly becoming visible was the clue there was something human beneath it.

"Do you enjoy your work, Adam? You seem to. Born and bred. Very familiar."

[Adam Kohaku]

Did she mock him? Her words seem mocking as if to poke fun at the hunter. Adam was not too amused, and whatever okay mood he was in faded. She was so critical of what he did. So badgering. Oakum had wolf hunters, why did she not go pester them? Why had she never asked to go see a wolf with them? Why bother with one of Darcia’s hunters?

“I have no need to find Paradise; Paradise found me a long time ago,” he responded as he straightened up and sheathed his blade. “I am not a noble who needs wolves and flowers to bring forth Paradise. I am a human who found Paradise through his siblings. Why do I need something that I must rely on two other life forms to obtain? I have a sister and a brother who I love very much and would not give them up for anything in the world.”

As for his work, who truly enjoyed killing and shedding blood? Well, Darcia did, but normal humans cared nothing for going out and simply killing. Anyways, working was never meant to be fun. Work was work. One went and worked hard at a job to get paid. That was how their world worked. Without money, no one survived.

“Perhaps my parents were natural born killers,” he said to her. “I will never know, nor do I care. I trained with these blades, and these blades are what makes my bread. Do you enjoy your work, Kangae? Do you enjoy being a lapdog and guiding armies onto the battlefield for Oakum? Do you enjoy simply being a pawn upon the chessboard and nothing more?”

[oakumnoble1]

"We could ask each other the same questions endlessly. Do not dare to fool yourself into thinking you are any more or less of a pawn yourself."

She reached up with that bloody hand, pulling the mask free from her face.

"Perhaps my parents were natural born killers" she repeated him, but she seemed to mean it. "And do not stare too long into the eyes of your enemy, as you bear very little difference from this.. animal yourself."

"And you contradict yourself. Worse than needing any Lunar Flower or any Wolf, you need two very.. specific.. people. Your own paradise is more fragile than you think. As would be thiers I assume. And yet you still engage in such dangerous work."

Her voice was lilting, but not mocking. "Regardless, I saw the look in your eyes. Very... familiar." She met his eyes.

"I am not a pawn, as a reference. I am a Knight."

[Adam Kohaku]

They were much the same, were they not? But who was to say Adam was a pawn besides this very pretty noble? He controlled his own destiny. Sure, his Paradise was held by two people, but they were not as fragile as she made them sound. Did she not know of the Kohakus? In any case, the Paradise of the nobles were held by a very select few flower maidens and the wolves. Nobles were too blind to realize they could make their own Paradise without the need of animals or flowers. That was their loss, though.

“I do not contradict myself. I am simply human. Humans find their Paradise through the ones they live amongst. Humans don’t search for some legend to fulfill their needs. Sure, some of us believe in gods and the like, but all it comes down to is the people in our lives.”

Humans made the best of what they had. They were not like nobles who could live for centuries or who possessed powers that humans only dreamed of having. Wolf hunting was laid at the feet of the Kohakus, and they took it without question. They did everything they could to keep that bond they held. The ate, laughed, and killed together and that was a far closer bond than any noble could find. Did they not know love?

“When nobles stop fighting each other over wolves and flowers, that’s when this world will find true Paradise. I would gladly not use my katanas to slice open animals, but until Darcia stops his want of blood and until Oakum stops trying to gain the flower maidens, I must keep killing. You must keep killing as well. We are part of the same cycle regardless if we are pawns or knights or kings or queens.”

[oakumnoble1]

"If the king does not move, his men will not follow."

[[haha, had to say it ;) if you get it you win a cookie.]]

"And I do have family. You seem to be trying to find a way to demean me. I know the precious nature of a sibling more than most."

Her twin, Kabuto, head of the police. It was an unusual arrangement they made that she was the one who took on the more arduous task of controlling the army while he handled the police. Only they knew why.

"We too do ask we are asked without question. We are more alike than you would like to believe."

[Adam Kohaku]

“You lack human nature, though,” Adam said to her as blue eyes flash over her being. “And you should know this. It seemed so much for you to go out to a bar and speak to a couple of humans. I am waiting for Kangae to come out of her shell and stop being such a robot. We are worlds away from being truly alike.”

The night was getting late, and Adam was tired of all of this running around. This was one of the longest times he had spent with a girl besides his sister, and he had gotten nothing out of it. They weren’t even really friends. What was the point of all of this? Nothing? If Adam had been Kaine, well, this night would have ended much more eventful.

“I think it is time for me to be on my way again,” the hunter said to the noble. “I think we have spent enough time with each other. You should probably get on your way as well, Kangae. I am sure you have official noble things to be getting back to. I am surprise your guards have not come after you.”

[oakumnoble1]

"Lack human nature." her eyes flashed. She was angry. "How dare you? How DARE you?!" At this point, the woman didn't seem to care who or what might be lurking around this lake.

"We are TRAPPED by human nature", she hissed. "How else could a being be so damned miserable with what they have been given, and demand more, and more, untill all of the world suffers their greed? We have sickened the world, sickened ourselves, and dare to call it a disease of Paradise. There's a simpler term for it. It's called pining away. It called giving up the will to LIVE."

"Natural longevity gives you nothing when you are constantly locked at war with others. There is more on that battlefield than Oakum and Darcia. We do not simply sit around and wait for a paradise. Every day we fight for this existence to even continue."

"There was once a place for my kind here in this world, as there was a place for wolves, and lunar maids, and all else that once walked it and may still do. And I promise you it was not ONLY WE who started his descent into destruction." She eyed him hotly.

"Hang onto your ignorance. I am sure it is a lovely companion at the bartop!"

[Adam Kohaku]

A sigh. Adam was in no mood for this anymore. At the bar it had all been fine. He had been open for conversation and even debate, but now he had lost his good mood.

“You are a noble for a reason,” Adam snapped, his temper flaring. “You lake humanity completely. You can imitate our emotions and the things we do, but we are nothing of the same. You may appear human but you are not. You make walk, talk, and appear as humans but you are not. You lack true human nature. Open up your goddamn eyes and see yourself for what you are.”

Damn nobles. They pretended to have human nature; they never truly had had human nature nor would they probably ever. Kangae like the rest of the nobles were blind to what they really were.

“Human nature is having the will to survive and overcome what this world presents. Noble nature is to come into the human world and take over and conquest. Nobles destroyed what was no ones to own. Nobles have made this world impure, and that is something that the humans have not done.”

What were wrong with these nobles? Why did they walk with their eyes closed and their ears covered? They all had their own agendas. They always had. What had been so pure in legends was now dirtied in reality. The world had never been so terrible before the nobles; Adam was sure of it. Adam did not hate the nobles; purely, they needed to open their eyes and stop bullshitting themselves.

“I am nowhere near as ignorant as some girl who follows after some noble and does not pave her own fate,” Adam growled as he found himself directly in front of Kangae. “Call me as ignorant as you dare, but you teach me nothing. You simply clarify a point that I knew so long ago about nobles.”