Beekaa patted the child on the head. "He'll be fine am just waiting for his mother to come and get him." He shifted and crossed his legs. "Come rest."

Parcival swept a portion of the steps near him shooing away a spider before sitting down. Han's tail flicked back and forth as he sat beside him, he kept looking at him, and Beekaa, his mouth started to open.

He shook his head while still facing forward. Just hush for once.

Han chittered but otherwise kept quiet.

It certainly took enough for a young assistant monk to appear from inside the temple, bearing Beeka's shakujo a wooden staff with metal rings threaded onto it, it created a divine resonating jingle as the rings jostled at the top.

The boy handed it to Beeka.

Han jumped off the steps his tail swishing. "Now will you listen to us?"

Beekaa pointed at his nose. "Me?"

Han's hair raised on his back while his ears flattened back on his head and his tail fluffed up, he kept adjusting his glasses.

"Han." His voice became heavy and icy.

Beekaa side-eyed Han while shambling nearer to the child leaning heavily on his staff, and groaning to boot.

Raging tears of Olenus! Are you kidding me? Parcival's face scrunched up, and he forced himself to relax. Can't let him see that. Beeka still shuffled about with the old man act, it was always better to pay him no mind or one found their head had a bump soon.

Parcival moved over to Han and nudged him with his elbow.

Han looked up a fuzzy brow raised.

He pantomimed a mini bow while sneaking a look at Beeka.

Han's eyes took on a knowing look and his ear twitched, he walked over to Beeka who was fussing over a Beatle trying to get it to crawl up an outstretched finger.

Han bowed fully to the ground paw hands flat on the earth. He didn't quite do it right.

Beeka cast a side eye but continued to play with the beatle.

Han muttered something gruff.

"Hum?" Beekaa tapped him on the head with the staff. "I can't understand you with dirt in your mouth, sit up."

Han grumbled as he sat up. "We brought her here because—how to put this—she's..." Han usually had no trouble saying anything Beeka seemed to have some effect on him. Han looked away.

"Spit it out already young feline."

Han sputtered. "Young? I'll have you know that—"

Parcival huffed and stepped over. "That's not important. Beeka I need you to do an exorcism on Merryn or at the very least check for the need for one." If things went well they'd all be out of here, and could even avoid seeing Father, who wouldn't take well to none of the tasks being done yet, along with the statue getting broken.

Beekaa stood to his full height. "You take such a request so casually? She could simply be diseased as seen fit by the gods and have to wait it out. " He said. He bent down and picked up the bug as it crawled up his arm resting there.

Parcival backed off. "No, of course not! You had no time before to inspect her, please once more?" All that work of getting her here, am not giving up!

Beeka swiveled the staff in his hands this triggered small fast pings from the rings. He lifted his head just so with a subtle impish angle to it. That glint in his eyes... have seen it before usually when he was about to make people have a quick painful encounter with the staff.

Beeka stopped spinning the staff, walked over to a small bush over to the side, and let the beatle crawl off onto it. "Many people's homes have been destroyed... I'm far too busy trying to help them. Don't be so antsy."

So that's what the problem is. Am an Idiot. Of course. "Would you be willing to let your assistants handle the job instead?" Parcival dropped a small magicked to be lightweight opal into the donation box. Will have to come back later and apparently drop a few more in. Looks like father has tasked the monks with more jobs since last year, they'll need a few more opals to fund things though. Father always had a bad habit of 'forgetting' to pay people.

The child's mother passed through the gates, with another monk walking beside her. She thanked Beekaa, tossed a small gray opal in the donation box, bowed to him then took her son and left.

Han faced him, his whiskers turned upward. “There's something...” he stammered. His ears turned to the left, tilting his head he scanned the sky frowning.

Beeka immediately stopped what he was doing, he stiffened, and walked over to Han closing the gap between them, his brows pinched together. "Tell me, what is it?"

Han's tail drooped and wrapped around a leg. "Can't you hear that? That buzzing, screeching it's far away, but getting louder by the minute."

Parcival strained, mentally pushed back the sounds of the city, of nature, and concentrated. There didn't seem to be anything.

Han's tail puffed out and the fur on his back stood up. He said not a word but starred off ahead past the gates, he moved half a step closer, softly chittering.

Beeka faster than could be seen twirled his staff over their heads, knocking away something that was there. "We, need to go."

A scummy gurgling overhead turned into a demonic long drawn-out screech.

Whoomp—great unseen wings of some creature flew over his head, the speed of it tousled his hair.

Without a word, Parcival walked to the gates, He rested his hand on the sword handle lightly curling his fingers over it. A fast walk, not running just fast. It would be easier to spot it away from the temple, and the further away the better. Han and Beekaa followed.

Another ear-piercing terrible scream above drawled out, he stopped walking and searched the skies. "Do you see it?" Parcival squeezed the handle of the sword, mindful not to make make the hilt squeak.

A sharp wind blew several decorative lamps taunt toward to roofs, the light stones bounced along inside like an animal testing its chains.

Han's ears flattened back. "No."

Beeka touched his prayer beads and whispered a prayer to ward off evil.

Footsteps hurried by, away and to the side.

He scooted over.

"Watch it, you almost stepped on me!" Han yanked his tail out of the way and blinked rapidly, "clumsy humans."

"Excuse me." He pushed away strands of hair that wrapped around his neck and stood back from Han more.

Some leaves flew by, ripped from the trees next to the temple gate.

The citizens fled into their homes as the wind roared through the city, it tugged on their hats and even lifted a small child.

The mother scooped her up running around the corner.

Another screech above, broken by the wind more vexed than before.

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Han turned this way and that then plopped down on all fours low to the ground.

A long entity streaked past Han's head it disappeared into above.

A thin scratch formed on his nose, and a line of blood welled up and splashed onto the street.

Han hissed and clamped a paw over it. "Deer god Norman offer me your protection!" He raised his other paw hand to the heavens and spread his fingers.

Han's fur and body turned a hard metallic gray.

He did a double-take. "Tsk! You shouldn't be so wasteful, your spirit energy."

Han hissed and showed a mouthful of sharp teeth and fangs. "Getting snippy at me isn't going to help. “You don’t own me. I don’t have to do what you say, whenever you say it, how about instead you try and find the dang-gone thing!"

Parcival put his hands up. "I get it, thank you for helping." Must have said the wrong thing there.

He continued forward and motioned for them to follow. This thing defied explanation, it didn't match up to any animal that there was. If it even was an animal.

He waited and watched. A shiver ticked up his spine. With every blink, an even darker part of the night separated itself. That had to be it!

"Over there!" He gestured toward a large statue it was wrapped here and there in strips of darkness that was in a shadowy flux.

He inched closer to it and waited.

Han quietly drew out his thin sword, unfolding it.

Beekaa hurried behind Han who went closer.

A whole heap of gray bump-covered tentacles snapped out from the statue, they clapped and whipped about aiming at Han's head.

Crack! A tentacle whipped past his head, and he cupped his cheek as blood dripped from a light flesh wound. "Ah!"

"Yipe!" Another one reached out and wrapped Han around his arms and dragged him closer to the statue. A thick silver pointed beak shined from within the dark mass. "Help!"

"Beeka don't just stand there!"

He raced over and yanked on the tentacles wrapped around Han, the creature wrapped them tighter.

Han let out a long shill scream as his arm snapped with a sickening squelch and flopped to his side.

Beeka slipped a hand into the crisscross folds of his robe across his chest and pulled out a paper talisman edged with a vibrant red border. "I'll take care of this" He swatted the tentacles out of the way with his staff. They curled up and wrapped around the statue; the monster hissed.

Beeka held the talisman pinched between his fingers, his staff gripped tight in the other.

He moved next to Beekaa a tentacle shot back out and wrapped around his chest, dragging him next to Han. The suction cups stuck and dug into his skin and squeezed, he tugged at the flipn thing, and before it squeezed even tighter he fell on hands and knees. Pain! The Pain! "Bee—kugg" It dragged him in front of the statue. He fell over on his side.

It pulled Han closer to the statue and whacked him on it, blood dripping from his wrapped arm onto the statue. Han screamed again before passing out. It leaned forward escaping the shadows oh my unblessed nightmare the abomination had a twisted hawk's body, warped of color and meaning, it was a mistake trying to find its face.

"That's its head?" His voice pitched higher than he liked. He tugged at the tentacle arm—if it even was an arm they all looked the same—he worked it loose enough to draw in a bigger breath.

Beeka started chanting, with each sentence finished tossed a talisman at the thing's head. The talisman glowed as it stuck tight. The creature opened its beak wide and the unearthly slow-to-build gurgling screech from earlier caused his inner ear to crackle. A warm watery sensation filled his ears. He groaned, let loose of the tentacle, and covered his ears. Nothing sane was this loud!

Beeka pressed forward then when he got nearer he pulled out a second talisman, and threw it hard at the thing's head. The talisman exploded on contact, it became a flash of bright light that peeled away the night from the creature's head.

It turned its head sideways and one baneful void of an eye locked on him. That's where Its vile tentacles came from, the sides of its head! "Agggh! They wriggled and flailed around its body then randomly struck out at Beeka who blocked the attacks.

He pulled out three more talismans spaced between his fingers. "May this creature's negative actions and emotions, be purified and removed!" Then tossed them at the creature. They landed on random spots, glowing brightly as they stuck.

The creature shrieked even louder this time unwrapped him and his hand and took flight past Beekaa's head and into the sky out of sight, a trail of smoke stretched out behind it.

He rolled on his back while rubbing his chest. It throbbed some. As the pain went down he held onto the statue and stood before going over to Han. "It's gone now." Knowing Han he might have healed himself by now and was too tired to move. He stopped halfway and peered intently at Han. "You can get up now." That's right he passed out. Poor guy.

Beeka moved beside him. "He still breathes. Pick him up, but avoid that arm." He pressed his lips together. "Going back to my temple now would invite trouble."

"Agreed." He bent over, ripped off part of Han's pants leg and bandaged his arm then lifted him into and over his shoulder.

Beeka's forehead folded into a tight mass. He faced him. "That woman may be bad luck."

He waved his hands in front of him. "No, you see..."

Parcival told him everything that had happened so far, as they walked briskly to a small shrine that had two attendants. He talked them into bandaging Han up better and paid for a thick herbal Knove root pain tea.

"Should I pour this down his throat?" He started to tilt the little cup.

"Stop." An attendant came over, bowed, and poked Han's nose repeatedly.

Han awoke, hissing and sputtering, then stopped and cradled his arm. He miaowed.

"Drink this, it'll help." He handed over the cup.

Han crinkled up his nose, as his whiskers flattened to the sides of his face, before tossing it back in one gulp.

"Hang in there, come on buddy!" Parcival grinned stretching his mouth a bit too far, making his lips sting. Uhh, that's not the right way.

Han tilted his head his as tail twitched to an unheard beat.

"Ya."

He dropped a small opial into the donation box, next turned, and bowed to the attendants. "Thank you."

They bowed in return and went back to stand beside the shrine. The fates tended to throw everything it could at all of them as of late. Han needs to rest, if not back to the temple then the inn would do. "You can't risk making that arm worse, head to the inn."

"Don't care much for being ordered around, but I do need a day to restore my energy to heal this." He held tight to the bottom of his broken arm as he stood then started going back the way they came.

"Wait."

Han came beside him his face taunt and strained.

Parcival beckoned for the nearest attendant over. "Will you go with him?"

The attendant nodded and followed Han as he left.

He bowed. "Thank you."

####

The usually bustling city grew quiet, as midnight approached. Parcival checked all over, sky included for the demon spit of a creature it must have left. He and Beekaa trudged back to the building where Merryn hopefully was still at. Please for once keep your shapely bouncy butt there.

A yowl off ahead.

Several shadows swirled in their path, a mini tornado that spun faster before it split into four humanoid spirits. Their pupiless eyes stood out first, cloaked behind an unnatural fiery haze set deep into the sockets.

Parcival stopped short.

"Watch out!"

Beeka slammed his staff on the ground, this sent a golden spirit energy shockwave off at them. He grunted and wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"This isn't right, the spirits shouldn't be acting like angry pitch-bees!"

The spirits grew arms long with long claws, then lined bright marks raced down their limbs glowing, and coiled about their necks whirling there. They came all at once split into two groups, with claws, that jutted out slashing as they ran.

One separated from the group jumped at Beeka with their claws aimed at his neck. He couldn't see fully Beekaa while busy with them.

"Watch the claws there's something odd about them!"

"Right!" Beeka groaned.

He can take care of himself. Parcival dodged and kicked at the spirit, and it made contact!

"They're solid!" He shouted.

"What?!"

Clang! The rings clanked and clambered.

The two faced him and stalked around him, they slashed deep cuts in his arms and chest.

He stumbled and cried out.

"Young man? Ooof!"

Crash!

A spirit behind him zipped past and fell through a rice screen door, it tore a huge hole in it.

Screams from the people inside. They held several light stones that shone the light on the spirits and screamed again before they ran out the back of the house.

All the spirits gathered together, one dug its claws into the loose dirt that made four lines behind it as it slinked forward.

Parcival stumbled over to Beeka.

"Ready?"

Beeka nodded.