The first thing that Lanius did after the sun rose was to get dressed and get ready to leave the village. He got downstairs, paid and thanked Fellista, who gifted him a necklace from her vastaya tribe. The young man in return gave her ice charm that couldn't melt, similar to the one that he gave to Yellina but made out of ice. As Lanius left the village, the remaining warriorsl of the village gathered at the gate to give him a farewell. Lanius walked away from it with a smile wider than the torii's arch. He soon passed the hill and disappeared into the forest yet again, resuming his trip.
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"Freida, have I told you how much I love the Spirit Blossoms?" Lanius said, catching a spirit petal in his open palm. The Spirit Blossoms, like every year bloomed and the air was filled with their petals wherever the trees grew. Lanius had walked for hours and as he passed from forest to forest, he found a patch that was filled with numerous of them.
"Because of their nature?" Freida guessed.
"Yes...and no." Lanius said. "Legends say that when somebody dies and they don't get burried, or their grave gets forgotten, a Spirit Blossom will grow on them, as if nature wants to honor the dead." the blossom petal took off from the young man's palm. "Spirit Blossom are so unique and pretty in their own way." the Winter smiled. "Ionians understood their purpose, and every year they host a festival. Supposedly, the door to the spirit world is open during the festival, and the dead return to their loved ones."
"You know Lanius, this land has many interesting myths and habits." The Spirit spoke, clearly interested.
The young man nodded and stopped next to a pond that was surrounded by the trees.
"Seems like a good place to spend the night." the young man thought as he turned his head to the sky, watching the sun set.
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"Magnificent...it looks almost identical to the ones in Freljord." Freida exclaimed as Lanius was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and currently looked at the milky way in the sky above them. Lanius saw a clear image inside his head of a young woman with teal hair and skin, looking at the sky with wide eyes, captivated by its beauty.
"Who knows, maybe I'll get to see them one day." Lanius muttered. He lowered his gaze on the Spirit Blossoms, that glowed with a light pink color. Spirit Blossoms had the ability to glow in the dark, making them even more beautiful.
"Lanius, I'm going to sleep. I think that you won't need my help for a few hours."the spirit told him. Lanius nodded and looked looked at the moonlight that was reflecting on the pond.
"It's so...peaceful." he thought.
The young man closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest. The bugs that came once the sun has set. The owls, talons and other birds that called out at night. He picked up a faint smell of cherry...and opened his eyes in a flash once he heard faint footsteps. Lanius did not move and listened carefully. The footsteps came from behind him. They belonged to something bipedal.
Millions of thoughts rushed through his head. Demons? Bandits? Monsters? Lanius quickly calmed himself and stood up, bracing himself. He continued to hear and soon found out more about the thing that was approaching him.
Light footsteps, short breath...it belongs to a female. Something causes a slight brushing sound behind her. A tail? No...many tails. A Vastaya. Lanius was sure of what he had to do this time, as his previous experiment worked.
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Lanius saw the bushes move as he turned towards the source of the sound with his fists clenched. He was right, it was the fox that he encountered twice in the previous forest. Her ears slightly moved with confusion as she found the young man waiting for her. This didn't stop her tho. Her amber eyes once again widened ecstatically and her tails stood up straight as he walked towards the Winter. Lanius waited. The fox, as always blew a kiss towards him. Lanius ripped off the bandages from his left eye, and activated the Sovereign's Dominance as he dashed to the side. The last thing he clearly saw was the fox's puzzled face. His vision turned dark and shifted to the energy trail mode.
"Uugham Vor'naem!"
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He saw what stunned him twice before. Some sort of spell, shaped in a heart passed through his previous position.
Lanius turned his head towards the fox. The outline that resembled her body was rainbow with countless colors shifting around. The fox, after a mere second of confusion blew another kiss towards him, with the young man also dodging this.
He unclipped his kusarigama from his belt and deactivated this power, going back to normal. The fox seemed distressed the moment she saw him pull out his weapon. Lanius did not pull out the chained kama in order to harm her, but to rather intimidate her.
She didn't try to charm him this time, instead she turned around and made a run for it, with the Winter rushing behind her,ditching the fire. He silently prayed that the fire would die before it lit the whole forest. He kept a steady pace, intending to make her get tired first. The fox also kept a steady pace, tho the way that her ears and tails moved told the young man that she wasn't intending to get caught.
The duo turned left and right, jumped above roots and through bushes, hopped over a small river till they made it into a vast plain that had a giant tree in its center. The young man could hear the fox huff and puff. He, himself was also losing his breath, but was more optimistic that he'd get her before she could climb up the tree. He didn't pay attention to the ground tho and tripped on a root, allowing the fox to climb onto the gigantic tree.