“All jokes aside, washing up sounds wonderful.” Rigel smiled softly, hand sliding to intertwine with Kohaku’s. “It’s been a long week without you, I must smell disgusting.”
"Well, you aren't far from the truth…" She got off of him, and carefully lead him to the door. "Just be careful… They're all asleep somewhere down the hallway…. And if they catch you, just say that you didn't know anyone was here…" Kohaku squeezed his hand softly, putting a small grin on her face. "You understand….?"
Meanwhile…. Because Yasu and Alex kinda got tired, they stopped to rest a little.
Rigel nodded, hoping they didn’t get caught nonetheless. He didn’t have much metal to defend them, he’d probably only be able to make a small disk sized shield with what he had.
Kohaku tip toed down the hallway in the opposite direction of where the others were sleeping. She made it all the way down to the third floor bathroom, and she let him go inside. "Don't take long, though…"
Rigel quickly cleaned himself up, making sure to not shave off that sexy beard morphing the metal he had into a blade so he could shave himself. He was so comforted to be able to clean himself.
Kohaku waited patiently outside the door, looking out for Daichi and anyone else, truthfully. I just hope he can get back into my room before they wake up….
Meanwhile…
Alex and Yasu began following their tracks, but they faded as they got lower on the mountain. "Dammit…" Alex scanned the ground, looking for any kind of sign that they were around. "Where could they have gone?"
"Well, being the half human that they are, do you think they got very far?"
Rigel hurried and stepped out silently a moment later, relieved to be here, to be safe right now.
(I’m confused as he stepped out of the bathroom or the shower….)
Alex and Yasu were traveling along nicely when a hefty rainstorm came over the land. “Dammit!!” Alex barked, putting his hood up. “I always had a feeling this was gonna happen…”
Yasu put her hood up too. “Then let’s see if we can— look! Over there!” She pointed to the manor. “We can just take shelter in there.”
They carfully stepped up on the porch and snuck inside. “Who knows… they actually might be here…..” They tip toed up the stairs and went into the first bedroom they came to.
Yasu shushed Alex. “Dude… it’s that panther….” She signaled him to go beside the bed, and he pulled a cloth out. He held Akira’s head and shoved the cloth over his mouth to mute his hollering. “Light’s out, my friend.”
And with a swift pull from Yasu’s bow, the black panther was dead.
(I’m kinda surprised he died so soon)
“I should probably go soon,” Rigel whispered to Kohaku, knowing it was only a matter of time before someone in the house woke up and found him.
(Me too…. But…. They were after him….)
Kohaku got on her tip toes. "You can't leave me so soon," She whined, ears drooping sadly. "You just got here five minutes ago…. Can't you stay any longer?" Her tail swayed. "P-Please?"
A random crack of thunder frightened her, and she yipped, clinging to Rigel. "…Please?"
Meanwhile….
Yasu and Alex glanced up upon hearing a yip. "It sounds like that fox girl," Yasu sneered, yanking the arrow from Akira's chest. "…Is she scared of storms?" She asked in a sarcastic whiny voice.
"Well…." Alex shrugged. "You think we should find her?"
"Of course… Yet… I have a better idea…."
“Shhh, shhhh,” Rigel comforted, brushing Kohaku’s head, “You know it’s not safe for us to be here together. Now that I know where you are, I can visit you more frequently. But it gets more and more risky the longer I stay,” Rigel kissed her forehead gently, “I promise I’ll stay longer next time, but I feel like I’ve already tested my luck.”
She just hugged him tight, nuzzling into his chest. "I can't leave you…. Osore…" She muttered weakly. "He's out there…." Kohaku didn't dare look up. She didn't want to risk her sanity, yet she wanted to preserve their highly-valued relationship.
Meanwhile….
"Well, what's your plan?" Yasu glared, heading out of the room quietly.
He shrugged. "Does it look like I have one? As long as we're the only ones leaving the mansion, that's okay with me…"
They went into the dark hallway, and they inched onward to a corridor. Yasu glanced around the corner and snickered. "Right there, out in the open…."
“Oh,” It finally clicked in Rigel’s head what the problem was. He brought Kohaku in a tight hug, “Hey, I’ll stay. Let’s go up to your room, I’ll keep you safe.” It’s be better to get out of prying eyes…
Kohaku clung to him, keeping her head down. "Please…"
Yasu stuck her tongue out. "My god, they're in love…" She hissed.
Alex went around to have a peek. "Damn… It doesn't get any worse than that… Quick… Before they get away…"
"Well, hang on a hot second…." Yasu began to whisper something into Alex's ear.
He nodded deliberately. "Sounds good to me." They turned back and left them, off to find the others.
Rigel guided her up to her room, bringing her to sit on the bed, “Hey, look at me. It will be alright.” He even pulled out his metal defensively, putting it behind him so Kohaku’s Osore would be out of the picture.
Kohaku refused to open her eyes, sniffling and whining. "I-I'm sorry, Rigel," She hugged him tight, arms around his neck and legs around his waist. "I don't want you to leave…." O-Osore…. She shuttered as she was forced to listen to the crisp, pattering of the rain on the window.
Meanwhile…
Alex and Yasu traveled down to the cellar to seclude themselves from being found out. "Alright. We know that weird guy has some kind of weird steelbending powers…." Yasu said a bit quietly. "And… I know how the cycle of strengths and weaknesses work…"
"What the hell is that?" Alex sat himself on a half broken box.
"The powers contradict each other, like they do in nature, you moron," She growled. "Water is strong against fire, fire is strong against earth, earth is strong against wind, and wind is strong against water."
"I can see all except wind and water…" He muttered under his breath. "So are you telling me…?"
"All we need is a nice, cool glass of iced tea… Or more rather a whole bucket of it…" Yasu sneered.
“Kohaku, I’m not leaving until you’re okay. Look at me, I promise you I will keep you safe.” Rigel tilted her chin up with his hand, supporting her with his other arm. “You’ll be okay, I promise.”
She began to cry. "I– I can't thank you enough, Rigel…." She burrowed her snout into his shoulder. "I just want to stay away from O-Osore…" Kohaku trembled in pure fear, afraid he was going to kill her one way or another.
Alex and Yasu sniggered together, but continued to keep it down. "All we need is something with the pressure of a fire hose…" She put a hand to her chin. "…We could make our own."
"Or… We can just kill them disregarding the whole cycle thingie…" Alex shrugged.
"But that's not as fun," Yasu put her arms behind her head. "Maybe we should approach this a different way… After all, humans are always and will always be superior…."
"What?" He smiled. "So…. You're saying–"
"Exactly."
“Osore isn’t real, Kohaku. But I am. Trust me, not him. Don’t succumb to that fear, Kohaku.” Rigel brushed his head, holding her close, “It’s okay.”
She merely opened her eyes. "I– I know he's not r-real… B-but I fall for it every time…" Kohaku rested her chin on his shoulder and curled around him, making sure her grip wasn't loose at the least. Soon enough, she was drifting into a nice slumber. With Rigel there for comfort, she had nothing really to worry about….
Alex and Yasu went over to the water heater in the basement. "Y-You really are the devil incarnate, Yasu…"
"Well, I didn't change my name for no reason…" She snickered, and simply turned the heater off. "Next time that fox takes her shower…." She smiled. It'll all just be rain to her."
(Wait, how old is this manor?)
Rigel gently set her down on the bed, covering her with a blanket before settling himself on the floor. He rested his head on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes, even though he wasn’t tired. And his powers was poised to defend Kohaku.
(I have no idea… X) maybe a bit more modern? Modern enough to have working plumbing? Let's just say "recently abandoned.")
Kohaku was still asleep, but every now and then, she twitched. "R– Ri– R-Rigel…" She mumbled. Her ears and tail flicked irritably as she wrapped her arms tightly around another pillow on the bed.
Alex and Yasu finished their business down in the basement, heading up quietly into the kitchen. "How well do you think this is gonna work??"
"Depends." She muttered, shuffling around cupboards. Dammit…. "Well, there goes that…" She said quietly. I can't make a good fire without oil….
Rigel reached a hand up and intertwined his with Kohaku’s. (Sorry for the one liner but there’s not really much going on on my end so……)
(True…. Want me to kinda time skip?)
(Either that or post all of what Alex and Yasu do in one big text blob so you aren’t waiting for me to respond in between every paragraph)
(True.)
Alex and Yasu wandered along in the kitchen some more, stopping by a wood-fueled cooking stove. She went up on a shelf, and found exactly what she was looking for. "This place seems to get better and better…"
Alex took it from her hand, and went off to the study down the hall a ways, and to the fireplace. He poured it all over the wood that was already there, shaking his head. "Too bad, so sad…" He laughed with a smile.
They met up at the entrance of the manor, and they nodded. "All set, right?"
"Well…" Yasu thought about it, but she decided she was getting too complex. "Sure. We just have to hope we hit them all in the right spots…" And with that, they left the manor, just to camp out not too far away.
Rigel stayed vigilant at Kohaku’s side. (sorry, I still don’t really know what to do with him >_< )
(Lol it's fine…. I'll be done with Alex and Yasu for a bit, tho.)
Kohaku felt Rigel's hand, and she smiled. "Stay…." She said softly, tugging at his hand to motion him onto the bed. "S-Stay…."
(Now we can timeskipppy?)
(Yeah, to when?)
(In the morning maybe?)
