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Post by Zukkah on Sept 21, 2021 18:24:12 GMT -8
Zukkah was once a ruthless saiyan, taking lives for no reason, stealing from the rich and the weak just so that he could benefit from it all. He was not happy about his past decisions, but there was nothing more he could do about it, besides try to calm his mind, and focus on the future that was ahead of him. With the neon lights of Oolong City shining brightly throughout the streets, Zukkah was on the outskirts of the city, high above perched on the edge of a cliff. His feet were dangling from the cliff, while he gazed at the city in a deep thought, wondering how and why he was where he was in life. The sounds from the nightlife echoed throughout the city and along the edge of the cliff.
The scarred saiyan pushed himself away from the edge of the cliff, standing to his feet and still staring down at the city, as if the warrior was plotting something. Either way, a slight smile crept over his face, while he turned and walked away. Just as he did so, Zukk sensed something from the east, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and look to his right. With the smile no longer on his face, the saiyan placed his right hand upon the sword, waiting for the ambush to begin. What the saiyan didn’t know, is that he was watched or tracked by whatever was stalking the shadows in the treeline to the saiyan’s right. It was something small, limping in the darkness ahead..
As Zukkah could only see the shadow of the figure coming, he sensed something was wrong with it, so he instinctively knelt down and calmed himself, attempting to lure the animal to him with his hand stretched out from the sword, reaching outward for the moment. It was only seconds later when the animal moved from the treeline and stepped out into the moonlight, revealing that it was a mere Grizzly cub. From the looks of things, the animal had a large gash down it’s right eye, along with what seemed to be a broken leg. "Poor thing. Your mother probably thought you weren’t going to make it so she just up and left you behind." He said in a slow, but calming voice.
Within a split second after the saiyan spoke the sound of a long howl was heard from the treeline, followed by two more beside it. Zukk quickly jerked his head in their direction and noticed their eyes shining brightly with the moonlight. "Come here, I will protect you." The saiyan said in a firm voice with his hand still stretched out, but his eyes were on the pack of wolves not so far from where he was standing. The cub looked back at the wolves, squealing at the sight of them and scurrying right to the feet of the saiyan. Zukk smiled lightly, before stroking the bear softly, and standing to his feet once more. With yet another ki signature coming from the city, Zukk looked to that direction for just a slight moment, wondering who or what else would be coming..
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Post by Persephone on Sept 22, 2021 15:24:03 GMT -8
When the moon was at its highest and she couldn't sleep, Percy would venture off into the night for a walk with her traveling cloak and her pack. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the world at night. Even with the bustling night life of Oolong City in the background, the earth was at peace. The moon was full, and with it came the Angel Trumpets' tender perennial blossoms. She smiled softly as she walked past the fragrant, alabaster blooms cascading from their branches. Fireflies blinked and danced in the darkness, their bioluminescence giving a glimpse beyond the shadows of the forest around her.
The silence of the night was broken by the sound of a young animal in distress in the distance. Her smile fell and she quickly moved through the brush towards the sound, peering cautiously from behind a shrub. It was a strange man, standing in front of an injured bear cub and a hand on his sword. Without another thought, Percy marched out from her cover. "What in the name of the Goddess do you think you're doing?!" Percy looked at the cub with worry, then back up at the man before her. She opened her mouth to continue, but stopped herself as she noticed the pack of wolves lurking just a short distance away. She huffed and shook her head.
"You need not draw your sword. They're just hungry." Percy turned away from the man, hiding the embarrassment on her face. I judged him too quickly. She walked towards the wolves slowly, her hands held up in front of her. Though her abilities to harness nature's magic were virtually nonexistent, Percy always had a way with creatures; and this was not her first encounter with the wolves that lived here. She stopped a few feet from the pack as they bristled, letting her know she had come close enough, and she spoke in a calm, clear voice. "The little one is not your prey. I have enough for you all this time." She kept her eyes up and they watched her curiously as she shrugged her pack off her shoulders with a grunt. Untying the cloth that held everything together, she revealed what appeared to be pounds upon pounds of meat wrapped in butcher's paper. Percy opened the butcher's paper, the bounty lain out on the ground before her.
"Come." She took a small bit of meat from the pile in her hands, seemingly undeterred by the raw meat, and backed away from the pile towards the man and the bear cub. The wolves skulked towards the meat before digging in, though they watched their surroundings carefully as they ate. Percy glanced over to her left, where the man and bear cub were standing. "I feed this pack every now and again. Food is scarce here because humans have culled much of their prey for sport." She looked this man up and down curiously before her eyes settled on the cub at his feet, and she knelt, reaching her hands out to the cub to reveal a small chunk of meat and smiled. "You must be hungry."
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Post by Zukkah on Sept 23, 2021 13:23:09 GMT -8
Zukkah was prepared to do anything to protect this poor cub from the wolves and whatever or whoever else was approaching. Once he felt the presence nearing, Zukkah turned his head to the silhouette of yet another figure and listened to an obvious female speak up. With the wolves still ahead and growling at the woman as she approached from the shadows, Zukkah didn’t move a muscle because he was focused on saving this poor grizzly cub at his feet, but that would be hard with someone else in the picture. Either way, he looked back and forth between the wolves and the woman. It seemed as if she was there to help, but you could never be too sure with people nowadays, so he kept his guard up for the moment and began to think.
After a short moment the saiyan began to stand up slowly, making sure not to startle the wolves as they kept their eyes on the two strangers protecting the small cub from becoming a small meal for them. The scarred saiyan looked over his shoulder at the woman, nodding his head lightly to the fact that she was going to handle the wolves for the time being. "Thank you." Is all that he could say as the woman carefully closed the distance between herself and the pack of wolves. Persephone pulled the bag from her shoulder carefully and grabbed out enough meat to make the animals extremely happy, sniffing into the air as the bag opened up and slowly stepping forward with their nose continuing to sniff away at the delicious scent. When she placed the raw meat on the ground and backed away slightly, the wo;ves heard the woman’s voice and immediately began to dig in. They were still a bit wary of their surrounding, but that was probably because of Zukkah and the injured bear they almost ate for dinner.
When Persephone walked towards him and the grizzly cub, he dipped his head low as a respectful bow. "She is injured and needs to be stitched up. I don’t have the material here to help her. Do you happen to have anything?" He asked curiously, kneeling down and petting the rough fur of the cub while it ate slowly. There was no way the animal would be able to see out of it’s right eye again, but Zukk was determined to help it out the best he could, even if that meant a little extra help from a possible new friend. He eyed the bear up as it was still eating the raw meat given to it from Persephone, hoping that the little bear had enough fight in her to make it through this. "She is strong but will not make it through the night without the proper attention and care." He admitted , looking to the female with a bit of concern.
Word Count: 481 Total Word Count: 1,007
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Post by Persephone on Sept 23, 2021 18:13:48 GMT -8
Percy watched intently as the cub ate, sitting on her knees. "Let me see." She leaned in to look at the gash across the cub's eye and hummed thoughtfully. "It will not be necessary to stitch the gash. It looks worse than it is, and simply must be disinfected and bandaged." Percy smiled as she pulled a small satchel from her pack. "I have some cloth bandages and echinacea salve that I kept with me while traveling, but they will need to be changed daily." Percy opened the salve and carefully spread a thin layer of it onto the unrolled bandage. Taking advantage of the cub being distracted with food, she put the bandage salve-side down over the eye and wrapped the rest of it around that side of the cub's head, overlapping twice before tying it gently. The cub had whimpered, but stayed mostly contented by the meal and comfort from the man petting her.
Percy cooed at the cub and smiled. "What a brave little one you are. Heh. The echinacea will prevent infection and promote wound healing. Many times this salve has saved my skin, as I am sure it will again some day." She looked up at the man, covered in scars, and watched him curiously as he pet the bear cub. "I misjudged you. It is rare, with the people I have met here, to find others who are gentle with the Earth's creatures. I apologize." She bowed her head a moment and looked back up at him. "I'm Percy."
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Post by Zukkah on Sept 24, 2021 18:14:54 GMT -8
The saiyan examined the wounds of the small cub as Persephone managed to wrap up the wounds before adding a salve to it. The grizzly winced a bit from the pain, but continued to devour the meat in front of her. She was starved and frail. Zukk continued to pet the bear, hoping that it would relax her enough so that Persephone could finish bandaging it up. He was more than thrilled with the help from the stranger and even more happy that the bear would make it another night out in the wild.
Once Persephone finished, she looked to the scarred warrior and spoke to him. Zukkah couldn’t help but to smile at the apology given to him, but he shook his head lightly. "If I were in your shoes, I would have reacted the same way. There is no need to apologize, you were just sticking up for these poor creatures." He replied, while continuing to brush the rough fur of the cub.
Zukk glanced up to see if the wolves were still eating, but it seemed that the pack had run off into the forest. The smile had faded, his mind elsewhere for the moment. He remembered the time he was once the same as the wolves, feeding on the weak and killing those who stepped in his way. His time in prison was what changed him, then the strange meeting he had with Koma and several others who gave him a second chance. When he stopped daydreaming, he looked over to the woman and smiled lightly once more. "I don’t want her back out in this forest without the mother around, so I am going to take her in and take good care of her. In her condition she will not make it through the night with everything that can harm her." He paused for a moment to clear his throat. "Zukkah, pleasure to meet you, Percy."
Total Word Count: 1,328
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Post by Persephone on Sept 24, 2021 18:58:54 GMT -8
"That's very noble of you, Zukkah. She is in good hands with you, I see that now." Percy smiled, watching the cub finish up her meal. "My people are conduits of nature. It is their duty to protect the Earth and all of her gifts. I carry those beliefs with me, even now." She absent-mindedly ran her fingers over the runic tattoo on her left bicep. "These lands are very different from where I grew up. Most people do not care about the flora and fauna, or even their fellow man. So I am grateful to have met another person that gives the Earth the respect she deserves." Percy smiled again, thinking fondly of Misaki and everyone she had been acquainted with since arriving here, chuckling softly. "I suppose humanity isn't entirely lost."
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Post by Zukkah on Sept 25, 2021 13:00:20 GMT -8
Zukkah smiled lightly at the woman’s words, but he remained silent and let her finish what she had to say. When Percy ran her fingers over the runic tattoo, the saiyan gazed at the design, intrigued with what exactly it meant. Either way, he didn’t interrupt her and listened carefully. As Percy finished speaking, Zukkah began to chuckle at her humanity comment. "If only I were human." He replied, patting the side of the cub as she grunted happily. "Your people, though. They seem really nice. Mine are rather crazy, if you ask me. I wasn’t always nice like this. There was a time where I only cared about myself and anything that would benefit me." He admitted, glancing up to the woman to see how she would react.
Total Word Count: 1,457
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