All the better; all the worse . . .

[Nayt]

The horror experienced by Akizetsumei must have equaled Eld's own. Everything had changed so suddenly. Until now, it wasn't so bad. Until now, it was good. Great, even. It felt like something good was happening-- but all that feeling was gone, sapped and drained away by the image of a wolf baring its teeth and growling at Eldridge Tsukimono.

"N-no-- nonono," Akizets whimpered under her breath. Tears stung her eyes and she could do nothing to stop them from rolling down her cheeks.

A hundred and one scenarios of heroism played through Akizetsumei's head. She could fall down from the tree and land on the wolf's back, knock him to the ground and beat on the head 'til he doesn't want to eat Eldridge anymore and runs away-- and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't. Akizets tried to will her legs to move off the branch, but her knees were locked in place. She wasn't even shaking. It was worse than shaking. Her whole body was frozen in place. Her joints refused to move. Her muscles absolutely would not budge. Her breath was still caught and every inch of her body was stopped dead but her heart, the only muscle that seemed to be acting on her will. It pounded against her chest like it was trying to urge her onward, but it wasn't enough.

All she could do was watch in horror.

The wolf growled at Eld-- louder this time. He seemed even more displeased, now. Upset, even. His mouth was open and his fur roughened with his demeanor. He took another step forward until he was practically on top of Eld, let out another loud growl, and opened his mouth wider.

Then and only then, there was a sound in the distance. It was muted by the sound of the wolf's displeased and aggressive growls, however. To Akizetsumei, the whole experience felt like hours. The wolf kept inching forward, growling even louder with each step gained--

"Batou!!"

And then, with great suddenness, he yelped loud and low. Guided with the utmost force, he was dragged away from Eld. He dug his claws into the earth but it did him little good. Akizetsumei couldn't see it, but if Eld looked closely, he'd see a tall silhouette grasping the large wolf by his tail.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was already against the tree; he had nowhere to go as the wolf advanced. It was going to bite him any second, but he couldn't move, or rather was unwilling to lest it bite him in response. It was a catch twenty-two that left him frozen in place. The wolf opened its mouth wide, and he was certain it would be the last he'd ever see...

Except that it wasn't. There was a shout, and the wolf was being dragged away by a large silhouette.

Several contradicting impulses fought in him; he wanted to call out to the large man (or so he presumed from the size), to climb the tree with Akizetsumei, or simply slump down against it in relief.

But was he really safe? There were wolves all around, and there was no saying for sure that this man could fight the one off, let alone all of them.

[Nayt]

The silhouette, clearly male in build and voice, dragged the wolf back by his tail for several feet before letting him go willingly. The wolf snapped. He spun around and flashed his teeth at the silhouette, who raised his hands in a very non-threatening sort of way.

"Batou . . . easy boy," the man remarked. He was heavily accented-- a sort of southern Algerothian accent, one stereotyped as uneducated.

The wolf had none of it. He let forth a loud, rumbling growl that would reverberate even in the ribcage of Eld. He dug his paws into the earth and folded his ears down in aggression.

"Batou!" the man shouted. This time he wasn't soothing or calming or anything of the like at all. He was commanding and sudden. "I said easy."

The wolf was still unwilling to stand down. His growl turned into a bark, one that sounded much more like a roar than anything else. The man didn't seem to stand down, though.

"Don't do this, Batou," he warned, "We got a good thing. We got a good friendship. Don't ruin it just 'cause yer feelin' pissy. These kids ain't done ya harm."

Still, the wolf held-- though not quite as ferociously as before. He seemed to . . . calm? He looked upon this man with a mixture of familiarity, respect, and anger. He was not going to bite this man, and though he lowered his head, ceased barking, and relaxed his muscles, he continued to growl at the man.

The silhouette stepped forward. The wolf stepped back.

"I'm serious," he said, "I will slap the shit out'ya if ya don't git outta here an' leave these kids alone. Ya hear me? Now git."

The wolf took a step back, but did not run.

"Go!" he commanded, somehow louder than the wolf could bark.

The wolf reacted quick. He ducked his head down, lowered his body some, and broke into a run-- except he curved away from the man and ran the other way. Grass shuffled all around Eld with great rapidity, followed in short by what seemed to be an entire pack of grayish colored wolves, all smaller than the one that nearly killed Eld. They ran off and followed the direction of the large, scarred wolf.

[Zach Kaiser]

The wolves were gone. He took a minute to let that set in. The wolves were gone, and he wasn't in bloody chunks on the ground. With a sigh of relief he sank to the ground; he doubted he could climb the tree now even if he needed to. His legs felt like jelly.

But it wasn't mere luck that saved him. Someone had saved him, and as much as he felt dizzy and kind of wanted to pass out now he really needed to address that.

"T-Th...T-Th...Thanks." It was funny; during it he'd been able to talk and move fine despite his fear, but now that it was over he felt like all his strength had left him.

[Nayt]

The silhouetted figure watched the wolf go. He brought his hand up to his face, palmed his forehead, and released a sigh. He rolled his shoulders before looking upon Eld.

"Don't sweat it, kid," he replied.

Before the man could step much closer to Eld, there was a rustle of movement-- except it wasn't in the grass this time. No, this rustling came from above. Without warning, a body dropped down from the tree, but it wasn't graceful at all. Akizetsumei landed on her feet, but buckled with a yelp almost instantly--and yet, she didn't fall, not because of the pain. As if this were her only chance to preserve Eld's life from here on out, she practically threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his chest. She sat on her knees and refused to let Eld go.

It probably wouldn't take long for Eld to feel the moisture on his chest. Akizetsumei was crying. It was a soft kind of sobbing, the kind that was almost inaudible, but she couldn't hold this back, not after what she saw. She was so convinced that Eld was going to die . . .

The silhouetted man took a step forward. The subtle moonlight provided enough illumination for Eld to get a good look at him. He didn't look a day over thirty. He was several inches over six feet tall and had something of a lanky, yet muscular build. He was long legged and long armed and his body was toned to a degree that bordered on scientific. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, tucked into ratty and torn black slacks, and a simple pair of worn out hiking boots. His face was hardened and he wore a large scar upon his left cheek, discolored over the years yet still claiming most of that side of his face. The man's hair was red like a deep fire and slicked up in an uncontrollable and bed-head like way. The man walked with his hands buried into his pockets, and stopped just feet shy of Eld and Akizetsumei.

"He wasn't huntin' ya, y'know," the man remarked with a shrug of his shoulders, as if answering some sort of pent up and secret question. "Batou hates humans."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld had intended to give the stranger his full attention, but something else came up that warranted it more immediately. Akizetsumei jumped down and quickly buried herself in his chest. "Shhh...it's alright now. We're safe," he said soothingly, bringing one hand around to gently stroke her hair.

He didn't look up until the man approached, and he was...huge. Very tall, and very muscular, he could give the Blacksmith a run for his money. Perhaps not Akizetsumei's father, though. But maybe. It was hard to tell in the dark.

"That scar...it was from a knife or a sword, wasn't it?" he asked sadly. "It was too clean to not be from a blade." It was then that he realized there was an implication there, a highly unusual one. "Wait...Batou? Is he your pet?"

[Nayt]

Seeing Eld alive, hearing his voice, feeling his touch, experiencing the warmth of his still living body . . . every sensory experience available told Akizetsumei that Eld was alive, but she could still barely believe it. Everything happened so fast. It was like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from, and all she wanted to do was hold onto Eld as if his life depended on it. But he soothed her. He held her, stroked her hair, and told her it was all right. That he was okay. So she softened in her grip, but she didn't stop crying. She tried to speak, but what words she managed were barely understandable. She kept whispering apologies into his chest. She kept whispering about how afraid she was. About how much she was happy that Eld was still alive.

The man didn't seem to pay any of that much mind.

"Pet?" The man practically backpedaled at the thought. He quickly shook his head. "No way. There's no tamin' that guy. We're more like . . . casual buddies."

He shrugged his shoulders again. It was only then that Akizets pulled back from Eld, enough to look over her shoulder and look up to the man that saved Eldridge's life. With red, puffy eyes, she investigated his form, she memorized his figure, and she leaned into Eld again. She'd mostly stopped crying, but she wasn't done holding onto him. The girl was scared to. She was afraid letting him go would make those wolves come back. She was afraid he'd die the second she released him-- and so, she kept clinging, but softer, now.

"This poacher guy got a hold on him when he was jus' a pup. Sick guy. Cut 'im all up, caged 'im, beat 'im. All sorts of mean shit," the man lifted his hand to brush the tip of his nose.

Akizets was listening. Despite her well of emotions all swirling in chaos and confounding all her senses and feelings, she was actually hearing and taking in the short story.

"That's horrible," she whispered, her voice tiny and hoarse.

"Yeah," the man nodded, "So when I came across that guy, I beat the tar outta 'im. Took the pup, nursed 'im, named 'im, an' let 'im go a few years later. An' that's Batou. Stubborn an' headstrong sonuvabitch, but we're still pals."

[Zach Kaiser]

"I see..." The story sounded...well, kind of fantastic, to tell the truth. But he wasn't about to question the guy who just saved his life, at least not without good reason to.

Seeing that Akizetsumei had calmed down a bit (and so had he, really), he slowly rose to his feet, encouraging her to stand up with, though he didn't force her to back away from him if she didn't want to.

And then he stuck his hand. "Thanks again. I'm Eld, Eld Tsukimono."

[Nayt]

Akizets stood up when Eld did. She still didn't let him go, though. She'd no intentions of letting him go all night, now. Now that she was a bit more calm, she kind of had the urge to kiss his chest like one kisses the ground after a shaky train trip, and for much the same reasons. She held back, though, and instead meekly stood by Eld's side, still keeping her arms wrapped loosely around him.

When Eld introduced himself and thanked the man, she did the same. "I-- I'm Akizetsumei," she said

"Remington V.," he replied as he took Eld's hand. His grip was firm and might have even hurt Eld a bit, but not intentionally. "Jus' call me Remmy. Nice t'meet ya."

He'd grip Eld's hand for only a short while before letting go and looking Akizetsumei. He bowed his head in respect like something of a southern gentleman, but it didn’t last too long. He wound up standing up straight again and crooked his head to his immediate left. He frowned as something he planned on saying earlier came to mind.

"Anyways . . . while I guess I gotta hand it to ya fer findin' a spot alone with yer girl for the night," Remmy looked back to Eld and Akizets; his tone wasn't accusatory at all, though. It was just like he was talking about a simple fact. He simply wasn't one to judge this kind of subject matter. "This ain't the best place t'make whoopy, ya hear? Batou's pack’s active at night, an' he's a stubborn little bastard. He'll be 'round this way lookin' fer ya again in a few hours, and I ain't plannin' on hangin' round here all night."

[Zach Kaiser]

Remmy, huh? This person had at the very least saved his life, and possibly Akizetsumei's too. He owed him some gratitude, and was intent on giving him a more formal thank you when he spoke again.

"N-No, you have it wrong, we weren't here for that! It's not like that!" Eld exclaimed suddenly, turning red at the suggestion and praying that Akizetsumei either hadn't heard what he said or hadn't understood the meaning. He remembered himself, though, and calmed down to explain. "We were out hiking and stayed out a bit too late...it's too dark to see the trail we took here, so we decided to camp out for the night."

Remmy'd implied that they should leave, but the problem was they didn't have anywhere to go. They were as likely to run into Batou again wandering the woods blindly as they were if they just stayed put.

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei sniffled. She was all but done crying and had only a few tears left to shed. Her eyes were starting to hurt from it, though. But this guy Remmy was here, and he knew this wolf well. She and Eld were safe because he was around. She was able to calm down, if only a little bit more. Soon, though, she heard Remmy say something and looked behind her, confusion slightly dominating her expression.

"'Whoopy'?" she questioned aloud, but she was meek and probably only audible to Eld. She obviously hadn't the slightest clue what Remmy was talking about.

"I git ya," Remmy replied. He moved his hand as if waving off the previous suggestion. The sarcasm in his tone and actions was biting. "Anyway, what ya wanna do is head up this way."

Remmy pointed directly north.

"Yer gonna just walk a straight line fer a few. I'd say . . . forty minutes, with yer girl's ankle all messed up." Remmy dropped his arm to his side. "Yer gonna hit a big road. From there, it's left to Hillcrest."

He didn't seem to mention Galaens at all, despite the fact they were roughly equidistant to Hillcrest and that city. Akizets didn't pay that much mind at all. In fact, she didn't concern herself too much with his prediction, either. Her ankles weren't hurt at all! She could walk just . . .

The second Akizets tried to take a step away from Eld to get a better look in the direction of cardinal north, she almost buckled. She let out a small whimper as she leaned her shoulder into Eld's chest. She could walk, it just hurt. It hurt a little too bad for her to walk on her own, in fact.

"Ya better git soon. Batou ain't no trouble fer now. Knowin' him, he'll just run away from ya if ya cross paths. He's only moody fer so long, though. He'll start huntin' ya in a few hours, I bet," Remmy reiterated his point. He was fairly insistent about this.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld's first impression of Remmy was that he was a strong, brave man. His second impression was that he was also an idiot. He ignored Akizetsumei's question for the moment (and hoped she wouldn't press the issue)

Eld resisted the urge to glare at him. He clearly didn't believe the explanation, which annoyed him as it kind of insulted both his intelligence and his honor at the same time. But again, the man saved his life, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Right, thanks..." He turned to leave, but then suddenly turned back. "Wait, how did you know we were from Hillcrest?" Galaens was just as close, and it didn't sound like Remmy was just guessing.

[Nayt]

When Eld turned to start walking away, Akizetsumei moved with him. She didn't let him go, though. The girl held onto his arm with both of hers and moved to limp by his side. Her ankle felt absolutely horrible, but it was movable. She was half-afraid she'd broken it, but having dealt with broken limbs many times in her life, she vaguely recalled something about movement--that if a limb or joint could not move, it was broken. All the pain was coming from her ankle and it was very mobile, but she couldn't remember who told her that and if they were just fibbing or not.

"Y-yeah," Akizets echoed Eld's thanks, "Thankyousomuch."

She was much more . . . sincere, perhaps? . . . than Eld was. She had no problems with him at all. He was a weird guy, but he seemed like a good guy. He helped them, after all!

Remmy started away, too. He said nothing to their thanks, in part because he'd already replied to such a thing earlier. His purpose clearly done, he had no reason to stick around. Eld and Akizets were getting out of the forest and they were going to be safe. He'd have completely spun around and left had Eld not reacted to something belatedly.

"Hrm?" he hummed, then shrugged his shoulders. "Just a wild guess. Later, kids."

Remmy lifted his hand to wave to them as he completely turned from Eld and Akizetsumei. Without further conversation, he casually slipped his hands into his pockets and left the two teens to their own devices.

[Zach Kaiser]

Huh, didn't sound like a guess. He wasn't suspicious of him so much as he thought the man was a mystery, and he enjoyed unraveling mysteries.

"Goodbye, and thanks again," Eld said as Remmy left. He ultimately felt that Remmy was a good man, despite the understanding. It wasn't until after he was gone that he realized he neglected to ask what he was doing all the way out here at night himself.

Before he really moved, though, he regarded Akizetsumei. Remmy said she had a sprained ankle, something he hadn't been able to notice since she'd been pressed up against him for awhile now. "How's your ankle?" he asked, concerned. "If it hurts, I can carry you."

Normally he would have just offered a shoulder as support or something, but he didn't want to take the chance that Batou might be back sooner than anticipated; he felt it best to get back to town as soon as they could.

[Nayt]

Her voice was raw and hoarse from crying, but she was able to talk just fine without it hurting too much. All she needed was a drink of water and it'd be okay. She still had a bit left in her pack, and she decided that she'd steal a few drinks of it in a little while.

Before she forgot, she went back to get her blanket. She didn't walk as harshly as she otherwise thought. Her ankle just hurt her was all. A brisk pace with her on her feet compared to Eld carrying her would probably be about the same speed, really. It wasn't necessary, and she'd already burdened Eld way too much today to ask for him to do that. He'd gone through enough effort and strife for the evening . . .

"Mn," Akizets shook her head. "I-- I can walk okay."

Akizets returned to Eld's side and looked north again. They had a good bit of walking ahead of them . . .

"J-just, um, it'd help if, um," Akizets reached over to take Eld's arm again. Her voice was tiny and meek again, as she was finally able to start going back to before, to a time when she could actually think all these brands of silly thoughts and whatnot about her and Eld and how she wanted to be close to him. After all they'd been through today, though, she didn't feel afraid that he'd deny her any help like this, to let her hold onto him and walk closely by his side.