The Shrouded Stalker (The Plague pt. 2/5) [Katherine/Lucia]

It had been but a week since Katherine had met Lucia and helped take care of the weed problem in the Beanstalk Village. She'd made her way to her next destination and was staying with a new host when she was given a letter by a messenger. It was from the Herbalist she'd met with the fox and it requested her immediate presence. She could only imagine that her accquaintence had recieved the same message as she. It seemed quite urgent so she went to pack her things and was on her way by early morning the next day. As her destination drew closer she began to notice something strange. The plants that they had weeded out for the Herbalist seemed to be popping up outside of the village now, and a little far from home too. She took note of this and continued on her lengthy walk. It wasn't unusual to feel watched when walking through a forest, but this sensation she recieved was a lot different than normal. This time it felt like someone, or something, really was watching her. The mage made a plan to stop for rest and in doing so, found that someone had been following her all along. Between the trees she spotted a dark figure and she froze, staring at whoever or whatever it was. She blinked, stood and kept her eye on them as she stepped away, opting not to get into a fight with a being she had no clue the strength of. With full knowledge that the figure might still be present, she ignored it and picked up her pace with the desire to reach the village as soon as possible. She hoped Lucia would be there so she could ask if she'd seen the figure as well.

As she entered the village and headed toward the Herbalist's house, the dark cloak of the figure kept flasing in her peripheral and made her uneasy, but she kept walking. Her own cloak swished around her legs and her boots scuffed the dirt beneath her feet in her subtle hurry. She came up to the house and stopped, whipping around to make sure the figure wasn't there. She couldn't see them, but she could feel their presence and that was bad enough on its own.

Katherine sat inside of the Herbalist's house feeling particularly shaken by what she'd seen on her journey to meet him, and Lucia she hoped. She had been there for maybe a good fifteen minutes before a small girl showed up and addressed her as Kathy. The mage looked at her strangely before she mentioned that she was... "Lucia?" She could honestly say that she was a little shocked. But now that she was here, they could begin the request they'd gotten.

"The plant I had the two of you collect last time has turned out to be quite resilient, in that it's roots can break through nearly anything in their path. In order to do so, it breaks down the physical materials of the other plants so that it can spread more easily. Once they've spread a good amount, the roots sprout a new plant at the surface."

When the Herbalist has finished her explanation, Katherine turns to Lucia slowly with plenty on her mind. "Lucia... Did you by chance have a strange shadowy figure follow you here?" Upon hearing this, the Herbalist decided that it might be better for her to send this information to a friend, who is both a scientist and a wizard. The atmosphere had turned quite serious and the mage wanted to find some way they could help protect their research.

"We'll catch him for you, don't worry." Katherine said, standing from her seat and laying her hand on the Herbalist's shoulder. She then looked to her partner. "Kill him if we have to."

Katherine had never been afraid to kill. Of course, she didn't like to but if it was necessary she'd do it in a heartbeat. The mage left the herbalist to her business and walked out to the street, assuming Lucia would follow her. She searched the area carefully for any signs of the cloaked man, but didn't see him in their immediate vicinity. They would need to look around some to find him, that she was sure of.

"We're going to have to walk around a bit to attract his attention..." The mage started her trek through the village, getting them further away from the herbalists house to be safe. "Let me know if you see him, yeah?" But she didn't have to wait long. Out of the corner of her right eye she saw the man round a corner and she rushed to go after him. He weaved between the buildings quickly, probably having noticed that she'd caught onto him. She nearly ran into a light pole once and another time she almost tripped over a loose stone in the street, but she finally caught up and grabbed the back of his cloak, pulling him back roughly.

The cloaked figure struggled against her grip at their back, but she held on tight, her annoyance being what fueled her strength. She pulled them close and growled in their ear, "I don't know who you are, but you're not going anywhere. I'd suggest you stop struggling if you have any desire to live." And yet, they still squirmed. Katherine sighed and looked around. It was then that she realized she'd lost Lucia.

Then, as if the universe had read her mind, the girl showed up. "Lucia! I'm sorry I ran without telling you, I just barely caught them," she said. The firgure jerked and Katherine stumbled a little, but managed to save her footing. She jabbed her elbow into their back and they groaned in pain. "You must have a death wish."

"So must you," they said darkly. The mage froze, which was a fault. It gave them a chance to take advantage of her shock. The figure brought up their fist, quickly, and punched her nose. She cringed at the impact, but instead of letting go of their cloak, she gripped it tighter. She wiped at her nose with her free hand and bristled when she saw the blood that smeared across the back. An angry growl escaped her throat and a normally locked vault in her magic cracked open, the contents rearing its ugly head. Self-defence would kick in and a rage that burned near as hot as the fires of hell would take over, bringing out the power of her previous self. But only for as long as she could stay angry and with the way this seemed to be going... She wouldn't need it to last.

She looked as if she was on fire, every strand of her hair lit and billowing around her. She could have let them go, so she could have the satisfaction of a real fight, but she already had them in her grasp and she wasn't about to let them have the chance to beat her.

Taking their hand in hers, she broke every bone fragment until all that was left was a limp shape of fingers in her fist.

Katherine let the man go and he dropped to her feet, writhing and clutching his hand in pain. She pushed him away from her person with her foot, the heel of her boot digging into his side and drawing an extra yelp from him. The blood smeared on the back of her hand was thick and dark, almost textured like sludge. Normally she wouldn't have bled but the man had punched her with such strength that it broke through and her unflowing plasma slipped down from her nostrils. Whatever the cause for her bleeding had been was already healed and gone, so she wiped the rest from her face and off onto her cloak. She side-eyed Lucia, her irises still burning bright from her sudden rage fit, "Yes." She put it bluntly and without hesitation, her voice low and dark; a contradiction to her burning. On the inside, she wanted to smile at the next comment the girl made, but the strength of her burst prevented anything other from coming forward.

Katherine could feel the change in Lucia's aura just as she could feel her own and before she could say a word, the mage stepped away and leaned her shoulder against a light post to watch what would unfold before her.

The slightest visage of a smile started to show on Katherine's face at the comment Lucia made about going out with a bang until it was pulled back down by the cloaked figure swiping his rapier across the girl's cheek. The blood the beaded and dripped from the cut caused a sense of maternal worry to course through her, but before she could have ever made a move to assist, the girl was on the man already, pounding him in to cobblestones with surprising force. As she finished her work and flopped to the side on her bottom, observing her handiwork, Katherine stood still and looked her in the eyes until she turned to attention. As Lucia came over, the mage reached out and grabbed the girl by her cheeks and without a pause of hesitation pressed her lips to the cut. No more than a second later, she would pull away and the wound that had once been on Lucia's person now appeared on Katherine. On her, it wouldn't really bleed but show the same thick sludge of old blood that had previously come from her nose. "Going overboard is no matter, as long as you're alright." And then Katherine smiled, letting the girl go from her gentle grasp and turning to the charred body. "I'm going to check him; see if there's anything left on him..." She knelt down and picked through what was left of the man. All she could fine was the remains of a used match, nearly completely destroyed by Lucia's attacks, and a silver coin. Flipping the coin in her hand she would find two symbols, one on either side; a hand and a skull. "How peculiar... What do you think of this?" She asked the girl, showing her the coin. After her answer, if there was one, Katherine would pocket the items and stand to her full height. "We'd best get back to the herbalist now. We have much to tell them."

Upon returning to the herablist's house, Katherine would brief them on the occurances, but not give them the grusome details and only specify that the person was dead and out of their hair. She wouldn't mention anything about the objects they had found and would keep them pocketed to look over further at a later time. The herbalist would thank them and hand them their reward, thus leaving them to go on their way and part once more.

[END]