Un-Kase ran through the trees, his brother Un-Ke-Ra tried to keep up, but with his smaller bipedal body he was able to dodge around the trees. Un-Ke-Ra tried to weave amongst the trunks and in some cases would succeed but mostly struck the wood and had to go around. Un-Kase arrived at their favorite hunting grounds first and let out a shout of victory, the Dragon bringing up the rear chuffing in annoyance.
No fair! Could have won if I flew!
“Then why didn't you?”
You don't have wings!
“Is that the only reason?”
…Don't know how.
“Well, you are right, I have no wings and you will learn eventually.”
Un-Ke-Ra smiled at him and not willing to let him think he forgot the terms of their bet, Un-Kase spoke up again.
“But I still won today! And you know what that means, I get the west edge, and you get the east!”
But, but, there's less tasty tree rats in the east!
“Yeah, well just win next time and you can go west!”
Un-Ke-Ra growled and chuffed as he clomped away, leaving his human shaped brother to hunt alone. Un-Kase stretched to keep himself limber and began to run through the trees again, now scanning the area for prey. The tree-rats ran away from him, slow enough that he could catch some of them if he wanted. He wanted bigger prey however, perhaps a deer, or one of the elemental boars! He would catch a few rats for Un-Ke-Ra when he was done.
He broke through the tree line and saw three deer standing on the other side of a small pond. The doe and baby turned and ran, the buck charging him to keep his attention. It was large and had hints of white at the tips of its horns, signifying that it was a spirit beast of some kind. Un-Kase leapt over the pond and grabbed the horns with his left hand, swinging his right in a claw fingered swipe.
He was surprised when his fingers sank into the bone of the buck's skull and it dropped to the ground. He stood over the corpse for a moment, startled at his newfound strength, before crouching down and starting to eat. He sliced the skin open with his cla-nails and began to rip into the tender red meat with his teeth. The meat tasted much better than he remembered, blood dripping down his chin and splattering the fur. He ate until he felt full, which normally was not equal to half an entire buck, when he finally rose from the body he was shocked at just how much was gone.
He washed the blood off in the pond, using a nail to pick at a bit of tendon stuck in his teeth. He started to run back to where he left Un-Ke-Ra, snagging a few rats as he went to give to his brother. He reached the clearing and continued on, following the trail of minor destruction left in the wake of the Dragon. The broken branches and trampled bushes painted a perfect path through the woods and before long he found his brother's meal. A boar was partially smashed into a tree and had its stomach ripped open with most of the organs eaten.
Un-Kase looked around the area and was confused at the lack of excited Dragons in the vicinity. A less destroyed path seemed to lead away from the dead boar, and he followed it to the southeast. He realized that he hadn't been this far from Mama's cave since she took him in, but he kept going nonetheless. He jogged along until he heard something strange drifting on the wind, a sound he felt like he could recognize.
“..._…-...”
He moved farther along, following the path his ears laid out for him.
“........elder…”
Un-Kase froze, finally recognizing the sound. Someone was talking! With words! He started running forward, excited to see someone for the first time in years. He reached a strangely flat area that was entirely free of trees, nothing but tall grass and bushes breaking the plain. That and the three humans currently surrounding an injured Un-Ke-Ra.
“An excellent strike, venerated Elder Brother! This humble one is honored at witnessing your refined techniques.”
“Of course it is your honor to see techniques from the coveted Inner Ring! It's just a shame that this beast is so weak, its meat will hardly bear any spiritual weight!”
The three began to laugh and Un-Kase sprinted towards them, shouting, “Leave him alone!”
The three humans turned towards him and laughed harder.
“And just what are you supposed to be? A savage living in the muck and filth? You should be thankful that the benevolent Prismatic Eagle Sect will spare your life! Your outburst would involve you being put to death in other regions!”
“Step away from him. Or I will kill you.”
The three stopped laughing and the man in the center grew red in the face.
“I tried to show you magnanimity, but your arrogance will be your death!”
He flourished his arms and a spear seemed to materialize out of nowhere. He spun it in a blurring pattern and settled into a stance.
“I will make your death quick! Know that you face the honorable Inner Ring Disciple, Lao Fin-Mang, the Piercer of Heaven! Behold my mastered technique!”
The spear began to shimmer with a rainbow of energy.
“Now die! Light Piercing Thrust of-”
Un-Kase was tired of waiting and sprang forward, claws swinging and the spear tried to intercept him. The rainbow light surged and seemed to hiccup, backlashing against the spearman. He stepped on the end of the blade and stabbed his fingers into the man's shocked face. The bone broke beneath him like a stiff eggshell, the skin ripping like fragile sod. The blood tried to spurt out of the wounds, but his fingers plugged the holes.
The second man screamed and stumbled backwards, Un-Kase swung the corpse of the spear wielder and knocked over the third man. The second man summoned a sword out of nowhere, swinging it wildly at him and he stepped inward, slapping the thin blade away and driving an arm through his chest. Un-Kase felt the man's ribs break and attempt to tear through his skin, but disregarded the feeling. He ripped his arm out in a shower of blood and kicked the corpse away.
As he turned to the third man, who was in the process of fleeing for his life, Un-Kase spotted the stylized sigil on the back of the man's robe. He didn't know exactly what it meant, but he recognized it from his time at the Floating Lotus. This man was a disciple of the sect that lived in Xey! All Un-Kase had to do was chase after him and he would be able to find the city again! He was about to act on his plans when he remembered his injured brother.
Un-Kase knelt down next to Un-Ke-Ra, checking hands probing over the scales to find any wounds.
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They don't play nice.
“Why were you trying to play with them?”
They were like you…
His blood chilled and he smiled at the depressed looking Dragon.
“I'm sorry they weren't nice, you need to be careful with people. Don't attack them on sight, just run back to the cave.”
To Mama?
“Yes. In fact, run back now. I have something important to do. Can you make it back on your own?”
Hurts. But can move. Will go back to Mama. Lick wounds.
“Good. I'll be back later okay?”
Okay.
The dejected Dragon began to lumber away, moving slowly not from the pain but from sadness. It was no wonder why he was sad, he had grown up with Un-Kase, playing with him and eating beside him. So when he saw people, he didn't think twice, just knowing that they were like his brother. Un-Kase knew he would need to have a talk with him when he got back to the cave, but for now he needed to try and track the one that fled.
He started moving in the direction the man had run, easily following his footsteps by the trail of broken sticks and trampled shrubbery. He moved quickly but was wary of an ambush, it wouldn't be the first time prey fought for its life. The trees gradually thinned out and he crept towards the edge, eventually stepping out of the cover of the branches. Un-Kase froze when he caught sight of what awaited him beyond the forest.
He blinked once, twice, three times, before deciding that what he was looking at was real. He hadn't realized he was so close to a symbol of civilization, and he was excited to see where it could lead him. Stretching from horizon to horizon was a packed dirt road, easily wide enough to accommodate three or maybe even four wagons! He studied his surroundings, looking for signs of the fleeing man and easily found his tracks.
Bits of sticks and some scattered leaves led down the road to the… East? And he followed along the path, catching sight of the fleeing figure barely around a bend in the road. He was stumbling his way along, moving shockingly slowly. Un-Kase must have injured the man more than he thought when he struck him with his friend's corpse. He stalked along, following his prey for a long, boring while, before they crested a hill and the city came into view.
The Walls of Xey stood tall and strong, the banners dancing in the wind that buffeted the outside of the stone. The Walls were so tall that he couldn't see the bulk of the city past the gray bricks, the only buildings visible being tall towers from the Upper section. The massive gates were closed to keep out any monsters, the small speck of the sect member approaching the darkened wood. Those same gates began to creak open shortly after the speck reached them, admitting him to the protective safety of the walls.
Un-Kase smiled, a plan already forming around his churning thoughts. He returned to the spot he had left his brother, stripping the belongings from the dead men. He carried them back to the cave, dropping off most of the items and carrying the remainder to the river. He cleaned the blood from the cloth as best he could, but stains still remained. Showing up at the gates with bloodstained robes might cause problems getting him in.
He thought about the problem for a minute before he smiled. If he couldn't wash the stains out, he would cover them up with more stains! He set the robes aside, running off to find something big and full of blood. He found a deer and broke its neck, carrying it back to the cave where he slit its neck open and let the blood run over the cloth. He waited until he had completely soaked the robes and discarded the corpse, kneeling down to rub the blood deeply into the cloth.
Once the two sets of clothing were completely saturated with blood he left them hanging from a branch of a tree. Un-Kase hauled the deer to the cave and gave it to Mama for a treat, then he checked on Un-Ke-Ra, who was sulking but otherwise unharmed. Dragons healed incredibly quickly, even more so when they licked their wounds. Un-Kase had made plenty of use of that healing saliva from Mama when Un-Ke-Ra was learning to play.
Finished checking up on his family, he went back out to the clothes, washing the copious amounts of blood off of them in the water. The rushing currents of the river ran pink with the sheer amount he had used, and shockingly, he attracted a predator. The large black cat that had visited sparingly crept to the edge of the water and sat on its haunches.
Injured?
Un-Kase blinked at the realization that he could understand the cat, but it was no stranger than understanding the Dragons.
“No, I'm using the blood to color these robes.”
Odd.
“Indeed. Since you are here, could I request your assistance?”
The cat lowered its head, sniffing the air.
You are a Dragon. What could I possibly help with?
Un-Kase needed the cat’s help, but he wouldn't beg for it. A little flattery might make him more agreeable though.
“I need to cut this cloth, but my claws and those of my family are ill suited to the task. Your claws are sharp and dextrous, perfectly suited to my needs.”
The cat preened under his praise, lifting a paw up to its face, where it proceeded to lick and clean between its toes. Wicked curved claws protruded from the paw, almost seeming to glint in the light of the setting sun. Once it was finished it stretched the paw out and extended the claws in readiness.
Tell me where to cut.
It took a while to get the symbols cut out of the cloth, and to change the base of the most ruined robe into a kind of shoulder wrap. Once it was all done he had a set of previously blue and green robes that were now a strange shade of brown. Grinning at his new clothes he hung them on a branch and washed himself off, the blood and muck required a bit of scouring but were removed nonetheless.
He laid down to sleep and his dreams were filled with figures of dancing flames and righteous screams.
Elder Xo-Long Jiao walked into the sitting room, each step clicking with a gentle tap of metal upon stone. He settled onto his specially constructed seat, cradled gently in a hammock of silk. He poured himself a measure of tea from the masterfully worked teapot, the fragrant yellow liquid cascading from a carved beak. He lifted the burning liquid to his lips and gently sipped at the Spirit infused beverage. The liquid burned his flesh as it traveled down his throat, the blisters forming and healing nearly instantly.
“You may speak now, disciple Ling Wa.”
Ling Wa had left the gates with two other disciples, outer ring disciple Pao Min, and Inner Ring Disciple Lao Fin-Mang. Both had apparently been killed by some wild barbarian, leaving Ling Wa to return alone. It was debatable that the favored Lao Fin-Mang had been slain by either of the outer disciples, even working together. Hence the council of Elders had sent Xo-Long Jiao to question the remaining disciple.
Xo-Long Jiao was an expert at the Prismatic Eagle Sect’s secret Illusory Techniques. Through his mastered manipulation of their signature Spirit energies he would get the truth out of the disciple, one way or another.
Ling Wa bowed in a deep kowtow, pressing his head to the ground before him.
“Honorable Elder, this lowly one thanks you for the honor of listening to his testimony. Venerated Elder Disciple Lao Fin-Mang had recruited Pao Min and I to accompany him to the Wilds to test his newest mastered techniques.”
The boy spoke the truth, so far anyway. Xo-Long Jiao flexed his soul to manipulate the energy around the disciple, wreathing him in illusions to capture his mind and make him incapable of falsehood.
“He demonstrated his Shimmering Steps of Descending Wings, and we followed along shortly. When we caught up he had found a young Dragon, Lao Fin-Mang had already bested it in combat and it was cowering on the ground. Pao Min and I were complimenting him on his efforts when the barbarian appeared.”
Still the truth. Apparently, another dragon had moved into the area, and more surprisingly such a young Chosen had been able to defeat one of its spawn. Xo-Long Jiao allowed the disciple to continue.
“He just appeared, so quickly it was like he teleported! And he looked at us like we were worms. He told us to leave the dragon alone, he had the audacity to command the likes of The Prismatic Eagle Sect! We laughed at the humor of the situation, and he threatened us!”
The truth. But not the whole truth. The boy wasn't lying enough to stop him, if Xo-Long Jiao was unsatisfied at the end he would force the child to relive the encounter.
“Lao Fin-Mang summoned his spear and prepared to strike down the fool, but he burst forth and stabbed his hand into Lao’s face!”
Some random barbarian was able to attack faster than a treasured Inner Ring Disciple? Xo-Long Jiao wouldn't believe it if he didn't know beyond doubt that the boy wasn't lying.
“He swung Lao Fin-Mang into me, driving me to the ground, and as I stood up I saw him shove his entire arm into Pao Min’s chest!”
The boy was crying. A sign of weakness that the Sect should beat out of him.
“I, I was so afraid, I just ran! I ran as fast as I could, but it didn't feel like it was enough! No matter how far I ran, it felt like he was right behind me! I didn't truly feel safe until I had returned to the city.”
Xo-Long Jiao processed the boy's story, the truth fully evident, but hardly willing to believe it. The murder of an Inner Ring Disciple would normally mandate a death sentence for the perpetrator. The only thing Xo-Long Jiao could think to do was to have the city guards keep a watch for anyone matching the description of the barbarian.