Ira: "Now that's what I'm talking about! Theo, let’s do this!" He said with the utmost seriousness.
Is he crazy?!
The proclamation seemed bold even by Ira’s standards, as Cherise and Obi both looked at him wide eyed, with open mouths in astonishment. Before things could escalate any further, Cherise yelled franticly.
Cherise: "Wait!!" She proclaimed before grabbing firmly ahold of Ira.
Ira: "What are you doing, Cherise!? I’ve got to catch up with that thing before it gets away!" He said anxiously, and all riled up with excitement.
That settles it! That settles it!! I’m not letting go!!
In response to his comment, Cherise held onto him more tightly. Her actions alone were proof alone that Ira couldn’t have chosen his words more poorly. Just to be doubly sure that he wouldn’t pursue the absurd hunt, she nervously looked up at him to plead her case.
Cherise: "Wait!!... Ira, are you so sure about this? You haven't seen if Theo wants to fight that monster yet." It was a safe bet, as she thought that surely two people wouldn’t have this equally crazy idea.
Both of them then looked back to Theo, and saw that he gave no telling signs, as Ira asked.
Ira: "You ready?!" He asked with fiery spirit.
Looking up at the enormous creature, Theo gave them a “Why not?” kind of shrug, as his answer. Cherise was aghast.
No!... Why are you both so stupid!?
Even she was surprised that they would be so confident in their abilities to take on a monster the size of a small village. Nevertheless, Cherise was not nearly so assured in their swordsmanship, and she made it painfully clear. Defiantly, she held on to Ira as tightly as she could manage, even going to so far as to grab ahold of him using her legs. Now having to contend with Cherise, Ira’s chances of besting this impressive creature for the trials was fading rapidly.
Ira: “Come on, Cherise! Let go already!”
No way!!!
Ira: “I can take it!”
No you can’t!!!
Not feeling strongly one way or the other on the matter, Theo seemed perfectly content watching, and enjoying the struggle between Cherise and Ira play out.
Trying his best not to let this opportunity slip by, Ira was now faced with the arduous task of trying his best to nudge Cherise off forcefully, while trying not to hurt her. And having had his palm to his face in frustration the entire time during this, Obi finally decided to intervene.
Obi: "I don't suppose you two would be willing to hunt something else? You know, preferably something that won't certainly end in an untimely death?" He said not even trying to hide his demeaning tone, but Ira still appeared as sure as ever in himself.
Ira: "Oh come on, that creature’s fat and slow. Both Theo and I are far more agile and cunning. We can take em!” He said as the lumbering beast's steps continued moving away, which only increasingly got him more anxious to break free.
Obi continued trying his best to dissuade Ira from his reckless endeavor, but after seeing that the beast was nearing the point of being too far, it only renewed Ira’s defiant need to hunt the creature. Even with Cherise on him, he began forcing himself forward. And after seeing Ira's newfound determination, Obi was done trying to solve the matter civilly. Without much warning, Obi tackled Ira, before deciding to join Cherise in holding him down. Even tackled to the ground, Ira continued struggling to break free from the two, but to no avail, as the beast finally lumbered its way out of distance. While still pinned to the ground, Ira was a little depressed.
Ira: "Well, I hope you're happy! I would've been able to brag about that for years!"
Nope, I’m pretty sure you’d be dead.
After both of them let go of Ira, Obi could only shake his head in disbelief while Cherise giggled.
Cherise: "We only did this, because we obviously care more about your safety than you do." She said in a playful yet chastising tone, as Ira let out a long disappointed sigh.
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Only a short time passed, as the four continued on their search for a more suitable beast for their trials. The already filtered suns light peeking through pockets of the forest canopy above was fading. With night swiftly approaching, it was becoming abundantly clear that it would become too difficult to venture any safely further through the forest floor. Obi stopped to look back to the others.
Obi: "It's getting too dark to even have a good sense of our footing. We should set up camp here for the night." He said while pointing to a spot on the forest floor that somehow remained relatively free of the great trees’ trunks and roots.
With no disagreement amongst the group, they all started setting up camp as Obi got a fire going. Once they had everything in order for the night ahead, the sunlight faded within several minutes. It was all the evidence needed to prove that Obi had in fact been in this part of the world before, to have known this would happen.
────────
In the dark of the abruptly cast night, the group had taken the opportunity to huddle around the light and warmth of the campfire. Since they started off on their journey, the small band had finally decided to have their first meal. As they were eating, Cherise couldn’t help but notice, that even though he had only brought himself one meager worth portions of food, Ira seemed to be in high spirits.
He must still be pretty sure in himself…
After once again finding herself worrying about Ira more than he does himself, she giggled to herself. With the dark forest having the occasional sounds of fierce creatures in the distance, Cherise decided to sit close by Ira, finding comfort and security in his company. When she sat down beside him, she spoke what was on her mind.
Cherise: "You seem to be in a good mood. Shouldn’t you be more worried you'll get hungry again? Or is your plan to pester Theo for some of his outrageous portions?" She said at first in concern, but she couldn’t help herself from teasing him.
Ira: "It won't be a problem. We'll be done with the trial sometime tomorrow morning, and back at the Order before dinner!" He finished saying with genuine confidence, but still she remained unconvinced.
Cherise: "Ira, are you just doing this to impress the others?-" And under hushed breath so only they'd hear, she continued, "-You said it yourself, even if you were rude about it… Everyone at the Order already knows you're their best swordsman. You don't have anything to prove. So why are you being so reckless?" When pressed further, Ira started to seem nervous.
Ira: “Me, reckless? Pfft! No, never.”
Eyeing him suspiciously, she saw right through Ira’s lighthearted joke, as the failed misdirection that it was. Knowing that he’d been found out, Ira just laughed in defeat.
Ira: "Yeah, you've caught me. In truth, I was hoping to have been done by now. Carrying an impressive trophy over my shoulders, as we made our triumphant return, and proving to all those naysayers that we belong at the Order…” He trailed off slightly.
Ira: “But just you wait, Cherise! The next worthy beast I see, I'm bringing it down. And I’ll make sure we’re coming back with something even Keller would be proud of." He said while uncharacteristically blushing, and averting his eyes from her.
Another ruse that Cherise was quick to catch onto.
So that’s it… Instead of trying to impress me, I’d prefer you’d be more concerned about your own well-being. But I would be lying to myself, if I said the gesture didn’t make me happy.
After coming to the realization of Ira's true motivation, Cherise giddily grabbed ahold of his arm, as she started leaning on his side. Caught by surprise and flustered for a moment, Ira collected himself before looking down at Cherise, and saying affectionately back.
Ira: "Looks like you found me out, haven't you?" And she responded as cheerfully as ever.
Cherise: "A-hmmm!"
Noticing the two, Obi muttered something to himself while smiling.
Obi: "They grow up so fast..." He said silently to himself before frowning.
&nbs
p; Obi: "Ugh... Makes me feel old."
All the while Theo was keeping to himself, eating with shifting eyes, and attentive ears towards the surrounding perimeter of the camp. Ignoring the others, Theo was listening to the sounds of the forest when he heard a slight crack of a twig snapping in the dark of night behind him. Now on full alert, on impulse Theo threw his food down, and reached to his great sword that lied beside him. His frantic change of behavior gave away the unknown presence true malevolent intent. The intruder knew it was found out, as the rushing sounds of hastened steps increased in rapid succession, closing the distance in on him. With an uneasy heart, knowing that he’d be in a fight, Theo hastily grabbed his sword for dear life.
CHAPTER 17 – AIJIN
The increased sound of the quickened steps were proof that the unknown lurker was nearly set upon Theo, as he swung his sword blindly behind him. With a quick glance, and in a fraction of a second, Theo only saw a blur of the beast that had been stalking him. The animal was now leaping straight at him. All the creature's features were obscured by the darkness of the night, with the exception of the shimmering yellow eyes of a serpent.
In his full swing of the great sword, Theo made contact with the beast mid leap, making a clanking sound as if he had struck a rock upon making impact. The beast's lung forward was slightly altered by Theo's massive swing as its body rammed into him side, slamming him to the ground before landing just passed him beside the flame of the campfire. While on the ground, Theo quickly looked back up to face the beast, seeing the creature quickly regain its footing, the firelight revealed that Theo's strike didn’t even pierce its outer skin. It appeared as if this monster of an animal was almost completely unaffected by his strike at all.
The orange light of the campfire brought clarity to the situation, and the beast’s identity, revealing the creature’s appearance. It looked like a wingless dragon, with a bone structure of a cat. The creature was the length of two horses with hardened dark layered skin that acted as a thick outer armoring, covering most of its body.
After noticing that the sword strike he put all his weight into had somehow utterly failed, Theo then pulled himself up quickly before nervously exclaiming.
Theo: "What on Ehya is this thing?! That was a direct hit! Shouldn’t it be dead, or bleeding? I'd settle for injured!"
The beast let out a hissing roar before charging at Theo again. Having no choice but to shake off his nervousness, Theo took another swing towards the beast’s face. A direct hit that led to yet another loud clanking sound. Another strike at his full strength with little to show for it, as it only stunned the creature for a second before it continued pressing towards him.
Seeing his direct strikes had faltered twice and feeling left with no other options left, Theo panicked. Not knowing what else to do, he held out his great sword defensively across his chest. And once the beast came in to bite down on his neck, Theo frantically thrusted his sword in between the creature’s jaws. Unable to resist the beast’s strength, Theo was forced to the ground, as he frantically held the creature’s fangs at bay with every ounce of his strength. Desperately holding his sword across the beast’s mouth for his life, Theo knew the monstrous creature was slowly overpowering him, as it edged closer, and closer.
His desperate situation would not go unanswered, as Ira had taken the few seconds Theo had bought to strike down on the beast from above. With full force, Ira came crashing down swinging the black fangs onto the beasts back, but even with his impressive weapons’, he couldn't cleanly cut through the creature’s outer shell. Upon impact, Ira heard the large clanking sound similar to Theo’s attempts before, this time however, Ira had managed to chip off some of the animal’s armor, leaving only an insignificant cut into the creatures flesh underneath. Ira’s attack was not over however, as he landed firmly on the beasts back, positioning himself to stab down on the creature where the incision was made.
Before Ira could kill the beast, he was thrust high into the air by the recoiling animal, giving Theo a small moments respite from the pressure of the beast’s full force, which was just on top of him. While this was happening, Obi had been unscrewing the top of his staff, revealing the true nature of his staff to in fact be a spear, as he began yelling at the others.
Obi: “Be careful you two, that's no ordinary beast! It’s an Aijin! It has nearly unbreakable armor across almost its entire body! It only has two weak points; the belly, and between the small gaps of layering in its skin!" As Obi was saying this, the beast was descending from its height back down towards Theo, after having just thrown off Ira.
Only barely managing to get his footing, Theo started to swing his sword in an upward arc to fend off the Aijin, which was slamming down its entire bodyweight with overwhelming force atop of him. Swiping its claw downward in reaction to his attack, the Aijin knocked Theo’s sword out of his hands. His great sword then landed at the beast’s feet. With his weapon now underneath the Aijin, fear set in as Theo looked at the beast.
Theo: "Oh, crap!!" He exclaimed in a panic.
Turning around, he ran as fast as his feet could carry him towards the nearest giant tree.
Climbing up with all the speed he could muster, Theo let out a loud cry. His entire foot had been bitten down on, engulfed in the monstrous jaws of the Ajin underneath him. Before Theo had time to think, he was violently dragged downward, scrapping against the tree’s bark, as he tried to grasp at anything to hold on to. Theo was reaching and clawing at any perturbing groove in the tree to get ahold of, but lost his grip again and again, as the vicious beast kept yanking him further down.
Resolving himself, Theo’s adrenaline kicked in. And ignoring the pain of the Aijin’s fangs piercing into his leg, Theo let go of the tree altogether as he began turning around while falling. Landing directly atop of the Aijin's head, he stared down the beast, face-to-face, only inches away. With his left hand, Theo quickly grabbed ahold of the creature’s jagged face for support. With a hold on the monster, Theo dug his clawed right handed gauntlet’s bladed thumb directly into the Aijin’s eye, squeezing down with all his might.
As the Aijin recoiled in pain, Ira had just returned. Once again leaping into the air towards the creatures back, with pinpoint precision, Ira thrusted his blades through the incision he’d made between a joint in the Aijin’s armoring. The black fangs pierced directly through the Aijin’s neck and out through its mouth. With one final bellowing roar, the beast released its grip on Theo as it was tumbling to the ground. With a loud thud, the massive creature hit the ground before lying silent. The Aijin was slain.
The danger had finally passed with the Aijin's corpse lying silently on the ground, giving Theo the opportunity to now focus his attention to his bitten leg. As he was holding his bloody leg, he couldn’t help from groan and complain.
Theo: "Well, I can tell you all one thing. That definitely did not tickle!" He said while trying to make light of the situation, as Obi and Cherise ran over towards both him and Ira.
Even after he’d slayed the creature, Ira was still surprised at the beast’s fortitude.
Ira: "Even the black fangs could hardly scratch that monster’s hide. I've heard stories of beasts like this, but I didn't think any of them were actually real." His comment seemed to pique Obi’s interest.
Obi: "It’s strange, up until now I've never heard of a Aijin traveling so far west before. There must be some kind of reason….-“ His voice trailed off as he seemed to think on the matter, “-I guess it doesn’t really matter in the end. Though I have to admit, I'm impressed you two were able to handle the Aijin without me. And I’m doubly impressed since I’ve yet to hear of an Aijin that was bigger than a horse before, and this one was easily double their regular size.” He said while gesturing to the fallen creature.
Obi: “Since we came across an Aijin, I just consider us lucky that we got out of this situation without at least having any major injury."
After hearing that last remark while still holding his still bleeding
leg, Theo exclaimed loudly and sarcastically back.
Theo: "Yeah, you’re right! I feel soooo lucky!" He complained while Cherise stopped in front of him, before preparing her medical kit.
Sitting down besides Theo, Cherise then grabbed an assortment of her medical supplies before responding.
Cherise: "Theo, no one could've known that we'd run across something like that. After you both faced down such a terrifying beast, I find myself having to agree with Obi… I'm just glad you're safe. Now move your hands so I can see." Theo then took his hands off his leg, and after a slight inspection, Cherise seemed relieved.
Cherise: "Thank goodness, nothing's broken.-" She said before giving a slight pause to rummage into her kit further, "-I'm going to put on some ointment, and get your leg bandaged up. The good news is you’ll be as good as new in a few weeks, however the bad news is that you won’t be as good as new until a few weeks.” She said with a light-hearted smile, which he was more annoyed by.
Cherise: “Either way… All things considering, you’re surprisingly less injured than I would’ve originally thought." She said while offering a comforting smile, which did little to make Theo feel better.
After hearing Cherise’s assessment, Obi scratched the back of his head contemplatively on the matter.
Obi: "There isn't much we can do but stay here until Theo's leg is healed up, and he’s ready to head on back." After he said this, Theo in particular was upset.
Not wanting to miss an opportunity to tease Theo, Ira shrugged nonchalantly.
Ira: "This is what happens when you slack on your training. If you had only climbed that tree a little bit faster, your leg would’ve been just fine."
Knowing exactly what Ira was referring to, Theo's expression lightened up slightly, as he started to let out a good laugh.
Theo: "It’s nice to know that I have a friend like you to remind me after the fact."
And with the mood now lightened, Ira walked over to the Aijin's corpse before kicking it. After getting a better look at the creature from up close, Ira then put his foot on the beast.
The Shadow of Death Page 14