Fortress of lies

Having recently grouped up with Izumi, Osamu thought it might be a reasonable idea to get a better understanding of the surrounding territories - and whether or not they were a threat. The grey-furred warrior was not keen on being taken by surprise, and it was always good practice to know your neighbors and their intent.

He found himself wandering away from the Plains heading eastward, out toward the desert where tall green grass gave way to warm sand. It was bright, here - almost too bright - but as the hours grew long, so, too, did the sun begin its descent, spreading cool lavenders and inky blues across the sky that soon melted into glimmering stars.

It was beautiful, in a barren sort of way.

Osamu picked up a strong pack-scent further on, and he skirted nearer the edge of what he could only presume were its borders, lingering curiously as he struggled to make out -

- a figure.

Slim and feminine in its silhouette - for a wolf, anyway, he was still getting the hang of these things - but another scent caught him by surprise, one he recognized as freshly-dried blood. The hair bristled along the back of his neck in alarm as he approached slowly, sands shifting beneath his weight.

“I am Osamu,” he called toward the lone figure, caution lacing his tone. “Are you wounded?”

@Suzune

the staff team luvs u

She stayed as far from the pack as she could without inciting trouble. Never again had she attempted to travel to the Oasis, but instead, she relied on the occasional ponds and small streams that decorated the earth. But a voice broke through as she began to lick her wounds tentatively.

"I'm Osamu. Are you wounded?"

Though it was a soft and equally mindful voice, it cut through her like lightning, splitting a tree. She would turn around with her head and body hovering only centimeters above the ground. “I'm not leaving; I told you I wouldn't,” she explained hurriedly as her heart beat faster until she wished it would just stop. “Don't hurt me; I'm sorry.” She pleaded pitifully. Her eyes were shut as her senses blocked off vital information that would've told her Osamu was not part of her master's crew. “I'm sorry,” she continued to beg, this time tears threatening to spill as her body shook uncontrollably. The pain that radiated from her leg was so easily ignored in the face of fear as she pressed for mercy.

the staff team luvs u

The maiden's reaction was... startling.

Almost at once, she shrank in on herself, every hair standing on end as she squeezed her eyes shut and trembled like a leaf against a gale. Something urged him closer, and he took several cautious steps toward her quaking form, feeling the fur along his spine relax as he realized the stranger was anything but a threat - if anything, she looked like the victim of some terrible fight. Was she, too, a warrior?

Unlikely.
Osamu had a clear picture of her now, standing only a few yards away. She was much too slender, too little muscle defining the delicate curvature of her limbs and haunches; he wondered if she could defend herself at all. Russets and browns made up most of her coloring, broken only by strategic cream accents that drew the eye in a pleasing manner.

What was very interesting, however, was the faintest trace of a foreign tongue lacing her terrified words. One that he recognized.

“I'm not leaving; I told you I wouldn't.”

Something was wrong.

Her breaths grew shorter, quicker. Fear.

“Don't hurt me; I'm sorry.”

Instinctively, his ears swiveled back against his skull, and he took a quick glance at their surroundings - wondering if some enemy approached from close by.

They remained alone.

“I'm sorry.”

If someone was near, however, he would need to be careful.

Osamu took a chance.

"私はあなたが私を信じている人ではありません," — I am not who you believe me to be. he said in his native Japanese. 私もこの場所から来たのではありません。 — Nor am I from this place.

He regarded her carefully, still scanning their surroundings for any unwelcome company. Although he was still coming to grips trying to translate his skills as a samurai to his new canine form, he grew more confident by the day; the tools were different, but his former lifetime of experience remained intact.

あなたが今私を理解しているなら、何が起こったのか教えてください。 — If you understand me now - tell me what has happened.

the staff team luvs u

“私にうそをつくな！” — Don't lie to me! She responded bitterly, but the man insisted.

"Nor am I from this place."

Give time; she'd find the courage to open her eyes as the samurai's form slowly focused once she blinked the tears away. He was right. She did not know him, and that realization hit when she finally drank his scent in. But as the man pressed further, she was torn between simply needing a confidant who would not betray her qualms and the fear of someone overhearing. Her mouth would open and close. This process repeated itself, and a dry croak escaped before she turned away from the man and confessed, “彼らは私を傷つけました。” — They hurt me. Accepting these words brought newfound pain. She had survived by half-heartedly convincing herself that it was necessary; in doing so, it lessened the pain. But now the truth was out for all to hear. She was hurt for the sick pleasure of another; she was hurt because they could hurt her.

“彼は私の尊厳と名誉を剥奪しました。” — He stripped me of my dignity, my honor. To one of Japanese descent, honor held such heavy importance to them that many would rather die before being dishonored. But Suzune was shameless in that aspect. An honorless whore who still lived and breathed. “彼は私を壊し、それから私を別の人に渡しました。” — He broke me and then passed me on to another.

She felt more bare and naked than when she did sleeping with others. Suzune had lived behind a well-crafted mask. She lived to entertain and entertained to live. Honor was unimportant. Her feelings were insignificant. Too many times had men drank in that smile she proposed as they grew drunk on sake and wine. She was a ghost to society, only appearing at night and wholly trivial to the works of society. 

But even if the man cared not for her, he had served his purpose. By him simply being there, her pain was recognized.

the staff team luvs u

She was not alone.

He, too, had been stripped of his honor, his soul ripped from his broken, bleeding body and cast into this foreign wolven form as punishment. The great demon's laughter still rang in his ears as the helpless cries of its victim, an innocent woman that he had tried so desperately to save, were swiftly drowned in a sea of crimson. Her clothes stained, her body rent in two. He could see her still. Hear her still.

A lifetime of honorable deeds washed away in a terrible instant.

Consequences. Weakness. Inadequacy.

He had failed.

Yet the shivering creature before him was more important than his lost pride. She was real; she was now. The wound in her leg still bled, shimmering liquid weeping from the open gash in a sickly scene. Osamu swallowed the lump in his throat, quelled the rage that stirred his limbs to tremble, and straightened himself.

Whoever could so such things to a woman - to any person - deserved the cold bite of steel plunging into their wretched throats, but he had no idea how many there were. He could not face an army alone.

"女性がいます。 イズミ。" — There is a woman. Izumi. he said. "私は彼女の武士と指導者として、彼女に従ってください。 彼女は癒しの芸術の知識を持っているかもしれません。" — I follow her, as her samurai and mentor. She may have knowledge of the healing arts.

He eyed the she-wolf's injury.

"歩ける? 私たちは平野に住んでいます。" — Can you walk? We reside in the Plains. he continued gruffly, though not unkind. He did not know how to be gentle. "それは短い旅ですが、あなたの傷を収容するために数日かかることがあります。" — It is a short journey, but may take several days to accommodate your wound.

He was willing to wait.

If she sought escape - he would pave the way for her.

the staff team luvs u

Suzune shook her head. “骨と皮膚はハーブの助けを借りても使わなくても治る,” — Bones and skin heal with and without the aid of herbs. she continued quieter. “私が必要とするのが癒しであるなら、私は自分自身を修復することができます。私のパックは、独自の理由で私を助けてくれます。 ” — If it is healing I require, I can mend myself. My pack will help me for their own reasons. She was neither grateful nor ungrateful for the man as she stated the facts. Arashi would keep her alive to fulfill his role as a Slaver, and Satan would keep her mobile so she would writhe in his bed. There was a price to pay for everything she wanted, but Osamu had yet to state what he and his leader wanted from her, if she even followed.

Perhaps out of budding irritation or urgency, the man would persevere hastily. To this, she would offer a sad smile as she stared at his feet. “卑しい娼婦は救う価値がありますか?” — Is a lowly prostitute worth saving? If her worth was tied in with what she could and could not do, what she lacked outweighed her skills, and her injuries further limited her abilities. Even if every person was worth saving, it did not mean that every person could be saved. Suzune felt like she belonged in the latter category, where others who could contribute more than spreading their legs and licking wounds were more valuable. 

“私が離れても、私を運んでくれますか？ 私の主人の犬を追い越すことができますか？足跡と地雷を隠して砂漠を横断できますか?” — Even if I left with you, could you carry me? Can you outrun my master's dogs? Can you traverse the desert while hiding us both? Her yellow eyes burned into the samurai's as she rapidly questioned him. Suzune was a liability. She could not hunt, and she could not run. In the time she had spent caring for her face, her legs had grown weak and pampered. Her limbs were delicate and slender; perhaps that was why they broke so easily.

But now, she needed breaks every so often as the soreness of her fractured leg reemerged. A few day's trips would be no more than twice as long with her as a burden to carry. Osamu was brave and valiant indeed, but the samurai was too optimistic, and Suzune had grown accustomed to abandoning her desires and freedom along with it.

“あなたが私に与えてくれる希望は素晴らしいものです。そして、あなたに感謝します。” — The hope you give me is beautiful, and I thank you, my lord, but please do not feed into my dreams.

the staff team luvs u

Every moment they wasted talking about it all was a moment closer to discovery, to harm. The samurai was confident he could outrun any of her captors - his musculature had carried over with him in this shape, and he knew his legs were strong - but he feared what punishment they may inflict upon her by mere association. Osamu felt his teeth press hard together, but he remained stationary.

Her words cut like blades.

She had reached that pitiful low where one was confident they could sink no further. This was the end of the line for her; she seemed resigned to live out her days here as nothing better than mere cattle.

He frowned.

She had fallen so far.

He did not refer to her status as a prostitute, whose revelation barely registered as but the most minute rise of his brows. Her occupation was not an uncommon one from where he had originated; true, it was looked down upon by the general public, but it was not in his code to judge.

Every person had a story. A path, rocky and full of thorns, had led the woman to her chose way of life, as had his own. Nobility alone did not drive him - everyone, everywhere was running away from something.

No - she had fallen so far from the woman she could have been in this moment. Fear gripped her as surely as any set of fangs upon her neck, rooting her in place.

"はい。." — Yes. he said gruffly. "私が必要なら私はします。" — I will if I must.

She looked as if she might laugh at him.

"私はかつて弱かった。 私は失敗しました。 近くの村の女性が鬼に捕らえられました。 私は山をスケーリングし、私の刃は深紅に浸し、私の手は血まみれで生のままで、私は彼に挑戦しました。" — I was weak once. I failed. A woman from a nearby village was taken - held captive by an Oni. I scaled the mountain, my blade soaked crimson, my hands bloody and raw, and I challenged him. he continued in a quiet voice, so low she would have had to strain to hear. "私たちは何時間も戦った-おそらく数日。" — We fought for hours - perhaps days.

Osamu lifted his head, dragging his eyes up to meet her own.

"最後の瞬間、私は躊躇しました。 私は焦点を失った-と死んだ。 彼女もそうだった 今、私はここにいます。" — At the last moment, I hesitated. I lost focus - and perished. So did she. Now I am here.

He fought the urge again to push her to leave, to hurry, to stop wasting so many minutes in idle chatter of could not, would not, but he knew the kind of woman she was from the steadiness of her gaze and the hopeless resolve in her stance. It would have been pointless.

Instead, he sat, and curled his tail around his haunches.

"捕まえたら責めてくれ 私があなたを盗んだと言って、あなたは強制されました。 戦うには弱すぎる。" — Blame me if they catch us. Tell them I stole you away; you were forced. Too weak to fight. He looked at the ground, studying his blunted claws. "しかし、私はあなた自身の悪魔の間であなたの日の残っているものを生きるためにあなたを残しません。 私はあなたのマスターの明白な眺めの中で私の人生を横たえ、それがかかる限り待つ準備ができています。 あなたは十分な価値があります。" — But I will not leave you to live what remains of your days among demons of your own. I am prepared to lay down my life in plain view of your master and wait as long as it takes. You are worth enough.

the staff team luvs u

Osamu would tell the tale of a great tragedy of a samurai and his ultimate failure; a demon and its victim, a story of lost honor. In an attempt to relate to her, he had managed to add to the distance between them. Osamu was a skilled swordsman, trained from a young age to hone his senses as he traveled the world with only recognition to gain. The honor he had was slowly amassed over the years he wielded his katana, only to be lost in a single moment of hesitation. Osamu reeked of rue and penitence for that split second that altered his life. 

Suzune was not that.

She was not a trained blade master; she was not trained at all.

Her honor had only lessened over the years as she became a plaything for drunk men and the frustrated wealthy. She did not lose her honor in a moment. Suzune could not pinpoint a single moment in her life that could've altered its course. Perhaps that day, she could have pleaded with her father more not to sell her, but what good daughter would go against their parents' word? What good elder sister would risk her brother's life, and her family's simply because she didn't want to listen? The money they fetched from her body and soul allowed them to survive the winter and for her brother to pursue his desires. In fact, the most honorable thing she had done was to forgo her own honor. 

But Suzune was too polite to point this difference out. Instead, Osamu would earn a small dip of her head followed by “お悔やみ申し上げます、主よ。” — My condolences, my lord.

The samurai, however, proposed his offer again. Each time, it grew more enticing. What if? What if I left? Her mind hummed that mocking tune repeatedly in her head, but Suzune knew better. Osamu was kind, he truly was, but he held onto sanguine beliefs. He was only a single creature capable of so much. She could not expect him to protect and defend her while keeping the courtesan's pursuers preoccupied. “あなたを責めて何の役に立つの？ 彼らは私を同じように傷つけます。” — What good will blaming you do? They'll hurt me the same.

Her yellow eyes burned into the samurai. “そして、あなたが守る女・イズミは？それがあなたの女性を危険にさらすなら、私を救って何の役に立つのですか？” — And what of Izumi, the woman you protect? What good will saving me do if it endangers your lady? A samurai was bound by oath as they laid their sword and life down to their lord's feet and dedicated themselves. Would the samurai before her cast his oath away for a woman he had just met?

But most of all, she could not shake the feeling Osamu offered in hopes that he could repent for his past mistakes.

“私はあなたの救いではありません。” — I am not your salvation. Suzune would not let herself be saved to tally someone's good deed. She would pull herself back onto her feet as she turned away from him. “私を間違えないでください。” — Do not mistake me for that.

And then, she was gone.

Suzune exits

---

the staff team luvs u