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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2019 10:13:16 GMT -8
The wild boar's squeal rent the quiet morning. It was a terrified howl, punctuated with pain, only to be cut short as a vicious torrent of black flames consumed it. The smell of cooked pork filled his nostrils, and Cress inhaled it deeply. The boar's roasted carcass smoldered where it dangled at the edge of his demon sword as Cress held it up and inspected it in the soft morning light. A small wood fire surrounded by stones gathered from a nearby bubbling brook crackled and popped, sending tendrils of smoke curling up into the gray sky overhead. Off in the distance, a good few miles or so heading north of their camp ground, they could see the large land bridge that connected Oolong City to the rest of the wild and untamable territory that was the West Lands. He breathed a sigh of relief before spearing the boar onto the roasting spit that hung above the wood fire. Cress was back in his element, away from all the lights, noise, and crowded streets of the city. He had enjoyed the revelry, but it had long since worn off. Now he missed the simplicity of camping and hunting, the long winding roads traveled by foot, and the constant buzz of one's survival instincts in dangerous territory. Marauding bandits or demons lurked around every bend, tree, and boulder. Dangers both seen and unseen. "We'll smoke the meat for a little while longer. Helps get rid of the ticks and fleas. Of course, you're more than welcome to drag your half down to the creek and wash it yourself. I wouldn't bother though—one of its buddies see you dragging a dead boar carcass, and you're mincemeat, lady." He spoke of course to the green-haired, violet-eyed vixen who sat primly across the way from him upon a large flat stone that served as a natural bench. Cress's heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. Something akin to butterflies churned in his stomach. He cleared his throat and glanced away, folding his large arms across his broad chest. Things were still awkward after their rooftop brawl and strange confession, but it was becoming a more comfortable situation with each passing day. No longer carrying the burden of that secret left Cress feeling like he could open up and be himself. He knew that was what Melody wanted. Problem with being himself, of course, was that it ran in direct contradiction to who she seemed to be. They couldn't be more different than the sun and the moon. "Anyway... got any smokes on ya? Mine are all gone." Melody[ 434 / 1000 ]
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Post by Melody on Dec 3, 2019 11:05:00 GMT -8
With the loose ends taken care of as part of her duty as Duchess in Oolong City it was a relief to journey back home. Apart from wearing regal western land clothing in the city, she was wearing her weighted traveling clothes which consisted of: boots, white skirt with a red belt, black T-shirt, yellow vest, and white fingerless training gloves. For the longest time Cress had only known her for the front she had on display in public which was more than just how she carried herself; he was starting to get to know the real side of her and perhaps it would cause their relationship to change for the better or worse. Melody wanted to be able to relax being out in the wild but she was still feeling rather tense and the reason was Cress. Now that they were aware of each other’s feelings they were right back from the start only this time there was nothing to hide between them.
As usual she simply sat by the campfire with nothing to say because she found it difficult to say anything at all. The thought of fleas and ticks on the boar meat meant Cress needed to trained by their personal chef at home on how to skin the beast before cooking it. However, Melody could not cook either so she could not complain about it and remained silent when she stuffed her face with smoked boar meat in frustration. Not being able to cook was the reason she got into a fight with the patchwork rounin they met at the gambling hall and lately she had been allowing anger to take over her emotions so she needed to quell those thoughts by eating through it.
Portobello answered Cress’ request for more smokes by creating a small magical portal, like a mirror looking into the village town council office, and retrieved the wooden balsa wood box containing the collection of tobacco products by putting his arm through the portal to take it out. The box was then handed over to the half demon without a word as the witch returned to Melody’s side to eat an apple. Once everyone had their fill without a semblance of a conversation they packed up and continued the rest of the journey north.
Truffle Village was a relief to sore eyes, the air was crisp, the trees smelled like recent rainfall, and the farmlands were safely protected by the Duchess’ loyal subjects. Melody smelled like all the vulgarities of Oolong City compared to the rich farmlands, stepping through a green grass path leading towards the Shinto shrine entrance with a sense of tranquility, and she was anxious to get rid of the scent of the city. The villagers acknowledged their green haired lady with slight head bows, hand waves, and smiles as she walked past ascending towards her estate at the top of a hill. Melody kept a steady pace for a while but something was amiss as she quickened her step inside her home, tracking mud into the main entry hall, servants scrambled to slide door panels in her wake, and she arrived in the open outdoor courtyard stopping in front of the master chamber with her sword withdrawn.
“Welcome home, my lady.” Morel smiled unphased by the sword due to her confidence in trusting the Duchess with her life.
With a heavy heart full of resolve, the sword in Melody’s hand sliced several angular cuts against the wooden panels and walls, and the tip of the blade was brought down against the concrete steps of the foundation of the master chamber wing. The walls pulsed and cracked from the reverberating sound of the well polished sword when she uttered the word crescendo while imbuing the blade with her own ki energy. The seconds that followed were the hallowing wooden walls, furniture, and personal effects splintering into tiny pieces of wood raining down to the ground and turning into dust echoing into a louder sound. All that was left of the area was a stone hatch that led deep into the rocky caverns within the hillside of the estate and the personal hot spring of the master chamber.
“I decided to remodel the master chamber for an additional stone garden memorial. Have the foundation broken down to the ground and bamboo planted around the hot spring to form a natural wall around it. The remaining walls to the main halls of the abode must be turned into a second floor stairwell with an abridged second level for the new master room so that I have a view of the territory.” Melody said with melancholy in her voice as she sheathed her sword while taking a deep breath. She sat down on a rock by the pond in the middle of the open air courtyard.
The destruction of the room meant the grounds were now a memorial for Cress’ mother as her final resting place. However, with the limited amount of land in the village she still needed to have a place to sleep, and perhaps a rock path and a few shrines leading up to the hot spring would be enough. It was the least she could do after discovering the truth and losing out on being able to love him freely after taking the time he needed to heal. It would be a year by next spring and she hoped to soothe his soul by that time.
“I feel a little better, after everything that happened, I hope you can, too. There is only so much I can do for you.” Melody said with a bit of sadness in her voice at Cress who was probably left wondering what the hell was going on in her mind.
[958/1,000]
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2019 22:10:36 GMT -8
Her blade bellowed out with the fury of a thousand rushing rivers. It flashed in its brilliance, swung and stabbed in precision strikes that reduced her master bedroom to mere rubble within a matter of minutes. A single word echoed through the newly created chasm: a lyrical note from the songbird herself. Crescendo. It tugged at his heartstrings. He took a long drag on his cigarette and sent a plume of smoke curling from his nostrils. His eyes slid away from the sudden display of wanton destruction. No, not destruction—this was a controlled, purposeful chaos. It spoke to the heart the duchess possessed, and without a single word spoken between them, Cress needed only to spare a glance at the demolished room to understand the meaning of her actions. Strange how he had come to discern some of the truths of her heart through this solemn act when he could scarce understand the breadth and scope of the human psyche, much less the mysterious matters of a woman's heart. Melody had never been a woman to speak plainly in such a way that he could understand. Her words were often veiled behind layer after layer of hidden meaning camouflaged often with a pretense of irritation or awkwardness toward him. Yet when she swung her blade, it was a language Cress understood loud and clear. Even now the scar she left from his shoulder, across his muscled abdomen, and down to his hip itched with the memory of her assault. Learning the truth of Zeranna as the demoness that birthed Cress had loosed a torrent of emotion within Melody and led her to be uncharacteristically quiet and distant toward him on their return to Truffle Village. Cress felt the same awkwardness himself. Once the damage to the room had been done, Melody relayed orders to her steward about the changes she wished to enact. His suspicions had been correct: she was planning on turning her old bedroom into a memorial of sorts. A memorial for a demon: one who would have gladly taken the life of each and every villager present in Truffle Village. The song of Melody's blade—the haunting lyric, Crescendo—rang in his mind as Cress stalked silently through the room and out the sliding panel doors behind Melody, who headed for the secluded privacy of the open air courtyard. A strange melancholy settled over him. He frowned as he settled onto the large flat stone beside her, peering into the still waters of the pond. The ornate balsa wood box that Portobello had fetched for him remained tucked with the crook of his left arm. It was touching—her concern for his feelings. His stare hardened briefly as he studied the small ripples that spawned along the pond's surface in lazy, concentric circles. Orange fish darted about just beneath. "Don't beat yourself up over it. You did what you had to do for the village. I'm not gonna fault you for that. You've done more than enough for me... mistress." It was a show of respect that Cress regarded Melody by one of his more formal names for her. A pained smile touched his lips, one of the first she had ever seen, replacing his usual morose scowl. "Just the fact you even give a damn to remember that monster... heh." He let out a heavy sigh. "The more I try to understand you, the more of a mystery you become. Figures... here." He lowered the balsa box from beneath his arm and held it out toward her. "I know this belongs to your council or whatever... won't be right of me to take it. You've given me enough." Melody[ 1,047 / 1000 ]
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Post by Melody on Dec 4, 2019 0:08:34 GMT -8
The truth did not set them free, at least not immediately, with their guards still up, it would take some time to get over their past experience just long enough to tell each other what they were truly feeling. The silence they shared was an indication that they still needed to heal emotionally first and foremost. Only time would allow them to heal and it was too soon to solve the mystery of their affections they were both struggling to define. She wanted to get over the fact that she almost tried to kill him if he kept on fighting and Cress had been equally as forgiving as she had been. Melody still sensed that he appreciated her sentiment and took the extra measure to give her the Village Council’s collection of sample tobacco products that were used to present to buyers after the half demon spent his days tending the crops in his plot of land. The Duchess hopped up on her feet, took a step back from the rock she was sitting on, and took back the box from his hands leaning in far enough to kiss him on the cheek with a smile. “You are too kind. Hopefully next time you can give me a different gift.” She mused playfully, the box was hardly a proper gift as she had made it seem, but it symbolized that he was willing to give her something back. Perhaps even the kimono he never promised to replace as there was still enough time to acquire it with his own zeni for the next spring festival. After a week of tying up the loose ends with the farmland crops, kicking out demon namekian invasions from the north, and rebuilding a new master chamber, the council presented a new mushroom variety found in Diablo Desert in the South lands. The caps of these stone like mushrooms were fused together and took hundreds of years to grow like trees and the research team wanted to try growing more red mushrooms on the stalks of this variety for their next project. Melody made plans to take a vacation at Papaya Island first, bringing Cress along with her since she left without a word last time, and felt it was necessary before splitting off to take on anymore tasks set by the council. It caused a whirlwind of trouble for the both of them to be apart and something as simple as vacation would allow them to strengthen their bond.
[1,360/1,000]
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