Whiskey Fueled Adventures

[falseprotagonist]

Washed Away

The wolf sat in a huddled mess back in camp. Alone, save for the strong reminder of the wind nipping at the grey cloak hanging from around his shoulders. He could barely make out the palms of his own paws as they pressed to his eyes, reminded of them only by the brief light provided by the lightning. Tonight the growing storm would keep him company.

It started softly, a build up to an eventual crescendo. Tempest meeting him in town, random and untamed emotions striking him in an instant. The steady sound of their footsteps as they raced through the forest. The steady sound of rainfall smashing into trees and foliage.

Then the storm revealed itself. Howling, brutal, violent. The rain picking up it’s pace to reveal what it truly had hidden behind it’s initial mask. What she had hidden deep inside. Another. Two personalities in one being.

Then finally it had returned with another crack of lightning. The familiar rain, wild and free, yet caring. The wolf sat still, letting it soak him to his fur, just as he had wanted to do time and time before. Just as she’d returned - A sweetness meant for only him within her cold winds.

Another flash of lightning, close, booming loud enough that Raith’s hearing went silent. Her paws at the monster’s throat. Cutting off it’s air, until everything went over.

And then came the farewell. Only a slight reminder of what once had been. Raith stood to look towards the sky, inviting the last drops of rain to strike his face. That last brief touch of paw to cheek.

And then she, furre and storm, were gone.

[falseprotagonist]

One day, whether you are 14, 28 or 65, you will stumble upon someone who will start a fire in you that cannot die. However, the saddest, most awful truth you will ever come to find–– is they are not always with whom we spend our lives

Beau Taplin

[falseprotagonist]

[falseprotagonist]

Fork in the Road

"You are weak, Raith."

The wolf sat quietly with his head held low, staring at the droplets of water splashing up from the rain soaked ground while the sound of thunder bellowed over head.

He added another drop to the rising river under himself, "I know."

That voice that had been stalking him for months called to him again, as icy as it was the night he lost them, "It has been a year - Do you really think they'd have mourned you as you do them?"

Raith swallowed with a shake of his head, "It doesn't matter."

The voice cackled at him, and then in an instant spoke as if it's lips were pressed to his ears, "Pathetic.. And I had such high, high hopes for you. They would have moved on by now.. She would not even remember you!"

Up the wolf stood, slinging his rain soaked pack across his back. Inch by muddy inch he shuffled towards the nearest marker, reading it once a flash of lightning lent him it's aid.

"Now where are you going?"

Raith turned his eyes towards the overcast clouds, letting the drops of rain free access to his features, "I'm going to find out how to kill you, Jericho." If he made his pace quick, he could be in Malgrave by morning, “It’s what she’d have wanted.”

[falseprotagonist]

Be still Close your eyes Soon enough you'll be on your own Steady and straight And if they drag you through the mud It doesn't change what's in your blood

[falseprotagonist]

Four Graves

There was nothing left for him here.

He had spent the night burying what was left. It was the least he could do for Lio, after all the training he had given. For Hazel, for the wonderful advice she had given him after he had lost everything.

Tempest's grave had taken the longest. Hours spent slowly digging up the soil and placing it into neat little piles to stall himself. Hours that felt like years, waiting and hoping that she'd get up. That she'd be fine. That they'd escape the mountain together.

He had laid on her grave until the sun came up. Quietly hoping and wishing that he'd wake up once it had, that everything he had seen would disappear with a flutter of his eyelids, revealed to be nothing more than a dream.

But it never did. And now here he stood, at the base of Mount Sheol. Red eyes and scarce belongings in his pack, dried blood still caking his white shirt, a sad last reminder at what that monster had done to her throat.

"Ghosts do not mourn, so why should you?"

The voice crept over Raith, cold and distant, drowning out his own thoughts like a wave of darkness. He spun to search for the source of the voice, his eyes settling on the vision of that same monster that took their lives. The wolf could only respond with a growl.

"This is how you greet me, after all I did for you?"

Raith charged with all of his might, only to feel his muscles clench up and give out at Jericho's feet. The monster loomed in over his with a sickening grin etched over his dark features.

"One day, you will thank me."

And then the world went black.

[fadeintocase]

nsfw doesn’t mean “sexual” it means “not safe for work” meaning “It can get you in trouble if it comes up on your screen at work” 

so stop trying to make a political statement by not listing nudity as nsfw, which it is, and actually be considerate for people who don’t want to get fucking fired because their boss sees them scrolling past nude images on their screen.

thank

[falseprotagonist]

[falseprotagonist]

Each child is an adventure into a better life - an opportunity to change the old pattern and make it new.

Hubert H. Humphrey

[falseprotagonist]

[falseprotagonist]

Strangers

[archivedectopicfantast]

”-Her?" Sakura quirks an eyebrow. "I dunno dude — she’s always done her own solo thing. ‘ve seen that one fer years now, and I still don’t really know how to talk to her." She casts a glance to the staircase leading down. "… So far, she seems okay with doing her own thing, and I’m okay with that. I’ve seen the sort of people that tried to get close to her. Half of them ‘mysteriously disappeared’ if you get my meaning."

"If you really want to give it a shot though, you’re free to try." Her chuckle is nervous. "Just … try to realize — she’s dangerous. You already got your face sliced! I don’t know what Lio’ll do if I had to send you back in pieces."

There’s a brief pause of an after-thought. “But we do have the best healers on speed-dial here, though. So uh, just …”

"Try not to die. How are you so sure she even wants the help, though?"

[falseprotagonist]

Raith was already starting back towards the door, "Don't know that she wants help, really, just.."

He slid to a stop outside the door and took a moment to brush his cloak with both hands as if trying to dust it. He turned around, looking over his shoulder, lowering his voice enough that it hopefully wouldn't make it's way through the door, "I have a hunch that she could use some cheering up."

He turned back around to face the door, and with a gloved hand, began to knock. Quietly at first, but slowly growing with power with each tap of knuckle against wood, "Kichuna, was it? Can I bother you for just one second?"

[falseprotagonist]

Strangers

[archivedectopicfantast]

"Honestly, ‘faking it’ is as good a method as any to get by. You’ll be shocked how many people out there actually do it, too. Eventually, it’l morph into actual ability, so don’t worry about it too much." She chuckles.

"And don’t worry about talking too much, either." She smirks. "I do the same. It’s funny to see it in someone else!"

She moves to slouch back on the couch, arms on the backrest. “Hmm. Capable is a good start. It’s useful, for sure. But you got me thinking now, too…” She taps her chin, eyes wandering to observe the various woven vines in the room. “Hm.”

"You know Raith, I’ve always wanted to form something like a group or club for Adventurers. Back when I ran my island, all I was aiming for was a home, at first, but I wanted to also emphasis ‘Heroism’ as a trait there. It didn’t go over well with the criminals and the psychotics that just wanted to do their own thing, though." A dry chuckle escapes her as she lets her gaze wander up. "Hm."

"… Maybe that’s where I went wrong." She notes, voice soft. "I went about it the wrong way."

She looks to Raith, ears perking up. “Hey. Maybe you’re gonna end up helping me out too, lil’dude.”

She gains a grin. “Help me figure out how to lead a new, reformed Adventurer’s group of some kind. I mean, by teaching you, I’ll figure out the fine details myself in the process, right?”

[falseprotagonist]

"Hah! I'm ahead of the game, then." Raith grinned to himself. His hands retreated into his cloak for a moment and shuffled themselves around, then emerged intertwined, pushing out from himself until his knuckles made an audible crack.

He listened intently to Sakura's proposal, tilting his head in their direction at times. As he started to realize their train of thought, he shot to his feet and faced in their direction, "Oh! Like a.. group of heroes or.. Yeah.  Adventurers."

Raith's posture sank for a split second before he glanced over his shoulder, then back to Sakura, "If.. I can make a suggestion, I think we should start with the one in the dark room. You know, if I'm not over stepping the student-teacher chain of command."

"She isn't.." Raith paused, searching for the words, "I don't know. Seems like they need their spirits lifted." Raith turned to face his bandaged nose in the direction of the room, "That's heroic, right? Just cheering someone up. It isn't some grand thing that will get you in the newspaper, but it seems like a good start at the moment."

[falseprotagonist]

Strangers

[archivedectopicfantast]

"This is a city, and I think carrying wood around would give you odd looks." She gains a lopsided grin, and does everything within her power to refrain joking about having wood. "So a few months, huh… It’s a start, more than what I started out with."

She takes out a small sealed packet from the first-aid box, rips it open, and  takes out the small, damp cloth from within it. She offers it to Raith. “Here, carefully clean around the cut there. Might sting a little, but it’ll disinfect. The cut’s in a weird place, so the most we an do is keep something against it until the bleeding stops.” She then offers a small, dry medical cloth once the first was done. “Thankfully noses heal pretty quickly…”

"So he taught you fighting, huh? A start. There’s a lot in the world to know, however… And before we can start, I need to know a few things.”

"What is it that you’d like to become, Raith?  Adventurer, Heroic, Warrior, or just capable? Why do you want to be the thing you chose?"

Sakura smiles to herself. “There’s a world of difference in what people will become, depending on what drives a person first.”

[falseprotagonist]

Raith receives the medical cloth and presses it against his wound with a, "Thank you again."

He listens quietly with a few nods, grinning when she mentions that there is more for him to tell her. However, the grin fades quickly when she poses her question. A deep breath is taken as he leans back, eyes fixated on the ceiling with the cloth pushes against his nose, "Oh.. Man, good question. Capable, I'd guess. I mean, I was pretty sheltered as a kid and.. Everything outside of that has just felt so overwhelming."

He sits back up and faces Sakura once again, "I've just been faking it to this point, y'know? Pretending to know what I'm doing, that I know how to be an 'adult' and take on all this responsibility. 'Swing that axe Raith, we need firewood.' Or, 'Bring those barrels up from the cellar Raith.' Or, 'Clean up the floor. Stop leaving your bottles on it, that's what the trash is f-'"

He clears his throat.

"But the heroic thing. That sounds pretty cool, too. See the problem, save the day, don't let people get hurt. I hate that. The people getting hurt thing." He cringes, "But just being capable would be a good start for me, I'd think. And not talking so much. Sorry, I'm nervous around new friends. And I talk alot when I get nervous. Being capable.. Or at least feeling capable would help with that? Right?" A blink, "I think so. Yes. But I don't know."

[falseprotagonist]

Strangers

[archivedectopicfantast]

Sakura just, winces, and jogs on down to fetch the med-kit. “I tried to warn…” Pack retrieved, she motions Raith to follow her upstairs.

She settles on the mossy sofa in the forest-infested living-room. “The letter said, roughly, that you’re gonna be learning some things from me now. I used to run an island of Adventurers, I assume your d— er, Lio, wants you to either learn some good heroic-skills or something of the sort.”

"C’mon, let me see what work she did on you. She always goes for noses — once I saw her bite someone’s ear off."

[falseprotagonist]

Raith followed along, half paying attention to Sakura and half to his surroundings as he moved up the stairs, "Aah, ok. That sounds good actually, I could use some more skills and.. stuff, I guess!"

He took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, readjusts amongst the moss, then finally settles, "He trained me for a few months - Not sure if he said that or not." Raith goes to scratch at his nose, pulling his hand away just after making contact to examine the blood that caused him to pull it away, "Obviously I still have a lot to learn, though."

He shifted a bit more and pushed his face towards Sakura to allow her to get a better look at his wound, "Thank you. I haven't gotten a chance to pick Hazel's brain about this first aid stuff yet. I asked Lio about cuts, but he told me to focus and then hit me in the leg with a baton."

Raith frowns a bit, rolling his eyes, "Not sure how that was helpful. You seem nicer though."

"Running an island though? I'm sure you have a lot of knowledge. What's first?" He paused ".. You aren't going to make me carry a bunch of wood all over town, are you?"

[falseprotagonist]

Strangers

[archivedectopicfantast]

The one eye seen from the shadows may as well be an intensified beam of hatred, directed directly at Raith. She lets him move. Lets him ramble.

Lets him try to provide an escape route. “The first aid kit is under the bathroom sink.” Kichuna enunciates. “Then patch yourself upstairs, where you can be noisy. Don’t bother me without an excuse.”

And at the final word, a single claw flicks against Raith’s nose with intention to leave a superficial cut. Not a serious wound — but that’s going to suck.

And she retreats back to her room with a firm shove of the door.

Sakura can only cringe from upstairs. “… Ghhyeeee you really test your luck don’t you…”

[falseprotagonist]

"Well, I.. Yaaah!"

Raith flinches backwards with a growl. He pivots around again to look at Sakura, dotting his nose with the corner of his cloak, "They're friendly, aren't they?"

Raith seems to forget his wound, letting the corner of his cloak fall back into place, "So um, what did the letter say? Lio told me that I was supposed to deliver them, then wait to be dismissed before moving on." He rubbed at the hair just over his ear, "Yeah.. Luck, lucky-lucky-luck.."

[falseprotagonist]

Strangers

[archivedectopicfantast]

"What?" Sakura pops up at the top of the steps. "Oh! Uh. — if you’re gonna be shouting, at least come up here to talk first!"

"The people downstairs are all asleep at this—"

The door clicks open.

Something cold, and sharp, presses itself against the side of Raith’s neck. Within the shadows is only the faint glimmer of white fur, and the reflective night-vision glow of one feline eye.

“The fuck you want.” Kichuna hisses.

[falseprotagonist]

Raith instinctively.. bats at the object. Not really touching it, more just gesturing towards it, "Hi!" He tries to pull away, spinning to face Kichuna, "Sorry to bother you. I mean, I was going to, and then I decided to come back later. So sorry-not-sorry? But still sorry."

He looks down to the note he was supposed to deliver, then shoves it into his pocket rather than present it, "I.." Raith gestures behind him, "Have to go check on something. But then I'll bother you? When, you know, you aren't sleeping or whatever."

"Oh! By the way, I'm Raith. Nice to meet you!" He reaches down to tug on the note, then pushes it deeper into his pocket.

[falseprotagonist]

Strangers

[archivedectopicfantast]

"You just never know with the adventurer lifestyle…" Sakura vaguely replies, eyes on the offered, new letter. She takes up the new letter, "Don’t see someone for a few months, who knows what happened to them. Kichuna’s downstairs, door furthers from the stairs. Knock first if you value your life." 

She, meanwhile, opens up the letter and takes it out to read. It doesn’t take long for her to smile, and to lean against the wall as she goes on. It really was good days on the island, and Lio himself contributed to that survival…

But her ears perk on reaching the end of the letter. What? Bring the boy under her wing?

… A slow grin begins to form. Ohoh. This should be interesting. And decent timing too. Already, plans are forming — she’d have to speak with a few people but…

"So hey — Raith was it? Did— uh." Sakura looks up, finding him absent. "… Oh no."

—-

Downstairs, the fore-mentioned door has a simple warning attached; knock. All the other doors are closed, save for a bathroom. Still, it’s cold, and eerily quiet in the stone-built area. While the above-ground could be mistaken for a forest, this place was just a dark, dry cave.

The lights aren’t even on.

[falseprotagonist]

Raith wandered into the darkness with a touch of reckless abandon. The evenlopes had been shoved back into his pocket with the exception of one, still gripped tightly in his right hand. The paper bent and twisted around his digits as he marched, examining each door.

A double take was taken as he looked back down the wall, examining the doors he had already passed. Finally he noticed it, the door with the sign.

"Knock."

Raith walked over to it and examined the sign, went to knock, then hesitated. He turned away and went to examining the note, leaning back against the door with the sign on it, "Wonder what is in these, anyways.."

Eyes shot open as he pushed himself from the door, running back towards where he had met his first recipient, "Hey! Sakura! What did the note say?"