The hunt of beasts, and a epiphany [Character job]

Amora grins as she moves within the town of Oak Town alongside her partner with a smile on her face enjoying the nice break from the craziness that is usually involved with being a mage. From crazy cultists that can create liches, tournaments that have a evil organization being apart of it, meeting god and dragon slayers, and having to protect HER forests from anyone that wishes to harm them. However, even with that she can't help but feel like she wants to go back to something a lot simpler and would be fun for at least herself as she glances towards her partner with a smile on her face as a thought pops into her head. Hey Oras. Can we go hunting today? Like spend the entire day doing so i want to see if my skills are still top notch to catch even the best of predators out there even without my earth magic aiding in that? She asks her partner with a smile as to her it seems like a simple enough activity to do with a friend to enjoy the day doing so. Amora having the happiest smile when asking this question towards her partner as she is wearing her fur coat that she likes to wear along with a red colored shirt, and black shorts. Come on i promise it will be fun. She quickly adds with a puppy dog like expression this little add-on to her talk being quickly followed by the preceding sentence that there wasn't much if any room to respond.

The black haired girl ignoring her surroundings as she is walking and talking with her partner as her mind pauses as she thinks on what time of the year that it is as her eyes gain a slight glint of fear, and excitement at knowing what time of year it is. Dark tiger night. She says softly to herself in realization having spent many years in the forest and having found such creatures before during her stay within her dark cave. Though having always had to move out and get out of there way to avoid the pack's wrath so that she can just survive thus having had to move every now and then from one cave to the next. A mixture in fear from some of the scares and frights they had given her as a child, but the absolute excitement at the thought of hunting them as either a equal or a superior predator sending a surge of excitement through her.

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As they walked through Oak Town Oras focused on reading a book to catch up to speed on a few things.  After his encounter in Nazo with the Yokai he figured that he should read up on them.  Especially since Izayuki is in fact a Yokai.  There was..  Quite a lot to their folklore and legends, but he was looking at a more detailed look into Yokai.  Anytime Oras wasn't training, fighting or talking with Amora he chose to study.  To learn more so that he would be prepared if he ran into something he may not have encountered before.  This was one of his very potent problems:  He didn't know how to have fun of any sort.  Even in combat he found no enjoyment.  Just satisfaction if things were going his way.  He was a survivalist above all else, but the problem was that he couldn't die.  So what was the point to survival?  Part of his mind was questioning whether or not there was a limited amount of times his body could perish before he was dead for good, but he had a suspicion that was just his nature trying to find a reason to live.  If he truly couldn't die, then.  What then?  He had already sworn to protect Amora and keep her safe from any and all harm, but.  That still left the big question of what would he consider to be fun?  The truth is he only thought of this once, and although it was an important issue that needed to be addressed, he wasn't exactly, addressing it.  That's when he heard Amora speak up and turned from his book to her as they walked.

"While there's no harm in going hunting, don't you feel like the fighters at the tournament were better test subjects than a bunch of random animals?"  He countered.  He doubted there was more to it than she was letting in on and wanted to know the real reason as to why.  He also saw the bright smile on her face however, which was already leaning him towards giving into her request.  Then she promised him it would be fun and gave an expression that Oras normally found neutral...  And still somewhat was due to him knowing her personality wasn't exactly matching her current expression.  However it did cause him to think..  Fun?  She may find it fun to hunt animals, but to Oras...  Before he could answer he heard Amora mention something called Dark tiger night.  Oras scanned the area and saw a flier, taking it and reading off of it.  According to the post, there were dark tigers that appeared on one night every year.  Sometimes they were hostile sometimes they were friendly, but for some unknown reason they only appeared one night of the year all over Fiore.  And tonight was that exact night.  It was open season, and they were paying a good amount for their pelts and any info available on them.  In addition no one was allowed to kill more than thirty of these dark tigers.  He thought for a moment and handed the flier to Amora.  "Alright then.  It seems like you know at least something about them, so what do you know?"

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She pouts and crosses her arms at her chest at her partner's rather typical response she could only call it since he seemingly doesn't really understand her side of things that much. She just smiles and gives him a gentle pat on the back and a grin as she looks him in his eyes as she glances towards the book that looks like it is involving something called a Yokai. Oras you just don't understand there is a difference when hunting a animal and when fighting you humans there is a different air and feel about the whole situation. She says towards her partner trying to explain it in a small enough fashion to maybe get him interested while also sparing some details since even she herself doesn't understand why she has found hunting fun and rather relaxing activity to do. She then watches as her partner just walks off and come back with a flier of what she was talking about and grins at least knowing that these beasts are much more widespread then just her small little cave back in the forests where she met her partner. When hearing him ask for details she just lifts up her head and has her predatorial grin across her face knowing that with this her partner is willing to hunt with her.

Well these guys are like literal darkness i could swear. Since i could just be resting in my cave one moment and then quickly leaving that cave because of those tigers just appearing there with no sound at all. Also, they just have this way about them that just had my instincts going wild to run away as far as i can from them since they just...felt stronger than me you know? It's like how i can tell at points you are on a whole nother' level in terms of magic then i am cause of your soul thing. She says towards you explaining in as much detail as she can about the creatures that she has encountered before at points. Amora grinning a bit and looks towards her partner and then nods her head at him with a smile. Plus Oras while we are hunting these things we can also talk about things we've been up to during those small moments i've been off doing my own thing or you doing your own thing? She offers to her partner as if that is meant to help bribe him further to agree to hunt with her to take down these creatures.

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"If what you say is true, then it would be interesting to experience it for myself."  Would it?  He thought?  Or was he just saying that for Amora's sake?  He wanted her to enjoy it, and he wasn't sure if she would enjoy it more if he was as well.  But, would he really enjoy it is the question.  He wasn't sure.  All he knew was it would get them some more jewels which he could use to purchase some equipment, or some more books and scrolls.  He needed to do some more research as he looked for possible magic styles he could go for.  He was still struggling in that area.  When she told him a bit about the tigers he thought carefully.  "So they can vanish and appear at will?  And clearly they're closely tied to the darkness.  In that case we'll be at a disadvantage unless we can create a constant source of light.  I could use fire but that won't exactly work since we're in a fire and don't want to start a wildfire."  When she mentioned that they could talk about their adventures while away he looked to her.  "I don't have anything to share unfortunately, unless you count investigations and researching a story.  I would like to hear more about-....  You're saying that to convince me to go aren't you?"

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She nods her head with a smile seeing that her partner is willing to go when kind of saying that he is willing to join her on this hunt as she grabs his hand in hers and starts to lead him out of the town of Oak to head into the nearby forests. Amora smiling since as soon as they enter the forests they can get bust with hunting down the creatures of the forest one by one just for the sake of some fun and seeing if they are as strong as she remembers. She smiles to her partner when he asks if this was her trying to convince him to join her on this little hunting mission as she gives a innocent like smile and look to her face. Well...maaayybeee. Maybe not! She says cheerfully with a grin on her face while continuing to lead her partner out of the town eventually letting go of Oras' hand and expecting him to follow her as she just continues forward. She then pauses remembering Oras saying that he has been supposedly studying something but she has mainly just been seeing him just reading a book about Yokai's.

What sort of things are you investigating anyway? Also what are Yokai's? She asks curiously having never heard of the word before and certainly as far as she knows never met anything that could be considered as such since nothing ever called themselves that. She would just listen patiently throughout her partner's explanation of a Yokai and then blinks slowly. sooo...what's the difference between a demon and a yokai then? Cause i met a demon human thing but he didn't call himself a yokai. She asks in confusion towards her partner remembering the humanoid bat demon thing with god slayer magic she had met when saving a village from bandits.

She then smiles and just nods her head cheerfully towards her partner. Okay so on my end however i think i could have plenty to talk about to make up for your silence of being a mister reserved. Seriously you should at least try to talk to other and get to know them. She says towards her partner with a raised eyebrow and crossing her arms ever so slightly at her chest. Wondering ever so slightly if Oras ever goes out by himself to just meet new people every once and awhile or at all. She shrugs slightly at such thoughts and just continues forward through the town ready to reach the exits as she steps through the gate of the town.

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When Amora grabbed his hand and pulled him along he nearly stumbled.  Despite her small stature she was very strong, and the fact that she grabbed his hand and pulled out of nowhere helped to that.  It felt weird to have her leading him through the town when he could easily follow her, and even guide her out himself.  Of course he knew that the main reason for it was her sheer excitement.  He could feel it bubbling on the surface of her emotions after all.  In fact he could almost see a glow about her....  It, looked really real.  When he tried to concentrate the 'glow' vanished and he shook his head.  What was that about?  Eventually they were out in the forest and she let go of his hand.  He began to walk side by side with her, taking his time through the forest.  They were looking for a creature that hid in the darkness, and could supposedly teleport at will.  They would need to practice stealth for this mission, which he was good at regardless.  It was Amora who needed more practice in the..  Subtlety department.  That wasn't to say that she couldn't be stealthy, just that normally she wouldn't.  She was more like a berserker fighter, or rather that was her style.  However he did notice over time how she was gaining more and more control over her silver flames.  Especially during the tournament.  Her attacks became more aggressive yes, but he could see it was just to end the fight and nothing more.  He didn't see the bloodlust in her eyes that had appeared that first time with the cultist.  Signs of immense improvement.

Then he heard her ask him what a Yokai was, and looked at the book in his hands.  As he put the book into his void bag, he explained:  "A Yōkai is a class of supernatural monsters, beings, spirits, and demons. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for 'bewitching; attractive; calamity'; and 'spectre; apparition; mystery; suspicious'."  When he heard Amora's question he raised an eyebrow. "Met a demon eh?...  Well Yokai are different in the sense that they aren't all demons.  That's just one way to describe them.  A simplified version of what Yokai are would be spirits and spectres that are extremely strange, mysterious, and exotic.  The most commonly recognized form of Yokai is a half human half animal.  Imagine someone with fox ears, tail, teeth and claws.  Some can take the form of objects like books and such.  There is an infinite amount of possibilities when it comes to the Yokai and what form they choose to take.  Demons on the other hand, are less random and mysterious, and have multiple traits that's easy to mark them as demons.  In addition:  While not all demons are like this, most demons are corrupt, evil and twisted.  Yokai are typically selfish, but aren't usually twisted like most demons.  When they are however, they can send a demon packing."

She then mentioned how she had much to talk about to make up for his silence.  Mentioning how he should talk with others and get to know them.  He turned to her.  "That's more difficult than you realize.  The last person I tried to 'get to know' hated me right off the bat for zero reason.  Not only that but I'm fairly certain everything she'd told me about herself save for her magic was a lie.  A lie I plan to uncover at some point...  Oh yeah, Izayuki put me in charge of the Stigma branch.  They're in charge of investigations, research and information, as well as blackmail when necessary."  His thoughts went back to Jiyu, the mysterious woman whose logic made absolutely no sense.  Oras wondered if she was even thinking about what she said when she said it.  At any rate there was one thing that was clear:  Whether she believed them herself or not, she had been lying to him.  And now he was going to find the truth.  And with him being the head of the investigations and research department, he now had people on his team.  He'd need to find people whom he could trust enough to investigate without being caught however.  They were all trained to some extent, but he wanted people who were above the best that he could trust.  If he could do that, then it would be easier to uncover the secrets of his guildmates.  Izayuki told him he could investigate anyone he felt the need to.  Jiyu was a definite in that file.

"By the way.  You do realize that since these creatures prefer the shadows and can teleport at will.  You'll probably need to utilize stealth over sheer power correct?"

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She smiles over towards her partner as he follows her without much of a fight which she is rather happy about since that would've been annoying having to drag him quite literally everywhere just to get him to do something that she would like to do for some fun. A grin across from ear to ear as she wonders how she should capture her opponents that can just blend into the shadows without much issue and seemingly go anywhere. That simple fact leaving a major hole in whatever her normal hunting means would be to try and take these creatures out since she can't pin them in one singular corner, can't have them fall into a pit fall trap, and can't have them strung up into the air since they can move through shadows. A frown of annoyance on her face as she thinks about that as she looks down towards her hands and nods knowing that to just get even one of these felines she will have to break them apart first. That each strike will have to be deliberate and switch to execute these creatures since if she tries to break there limbs they could just vanish away, and who knows really what happens when one just teleports through darkness. For all she could know they heal while within darkness or within shadows themselves that they use for there transportation. 'This is going to be one of the most annoying and difficult hunts i have taken in thus far which will mean i will have to take this seriously and show them the power of a trained professional huntress.' She thinks to herself with a smirk of pride at her little self given title for her skills and what she enjoys doing the most.

She nods her head ever so slightly on the difference between the yokai and the demons not seeing much of a difference being the thing besides what they could look like, and what she should expect from them in terms of handling one side of things to the next. She just look towards her partner/mentor and nods her head slightly as she now finds herself confused on what the difference between that bat demon was and if he lied and was a yokai. Knowing that he had ears, wings and even had eyes like a demon and a weird skin color. 'Does that make him a demon, or a yokai though.' she thinks to herself in annoyance as a pout settles across her face as her arms are crossed at her chest as her mind stars focusing on that topic quite a bit until your voice snaps Amora back to reality. She blinks and then just shakes her head at her mentor finding his reasoning a bit silly for being so unwilling to talk to people and actually get to know others. You shouldn't let one experience define what you should do with your life Oras. You trusted me enough to break that barrier so why not be the one to take the step instead of letting others step towards you? You do catch more prey with sweet juicy berries instead of bitter ones. She says towards her partner and then narrows her eyes and huffs as if insulted when he mentions that she should be stealthy. Oras i am a hunter by nature. I always uphold the highest amount of stealth that i can when approaching things that i deem are my prey and that i am allowed to hunt without being turned into a criminal by you humans. She says towards her partner with a bit of a smirk as she looks around trying to use her sight and hearing to spot the creatures that are there prey for this night.

A part of his previous sentence finally catches her ears as she turns to her partner with a raised eyebrow in confusion. Research, blackmail, and investigations. You sound like some evil organization ready to blow up the world. Amora says in a simple matter of fact tone towards her partner not going to let this go until she understands what is even happening with that. Amora making sure to try and pick out the forms in the darkness trying to see if they are just the tigers blended in the dark or just the shadows. Never really being certain whenever trying to decide that since they can seemingly just become one with the dark when they choose.

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Oras listened to Amora as she told him that he shouldn't be letting a single experience define what he would be doing with his life.  He was silent for a while as she continued, reminding him how he had managed to come and trust her.  Telling him to take the step instead of waiting on others to step towards him.  He said nothing, even after she used the metaphor, which was a very well thought out one.  He thought carefully about what she was telling him right here, and right now.  He didn't reach out to people because he was extremely, out of the water picky.  He didn't want to work with anyone he couldn't trust, which excluded most people right off the bat.  And in addition to this, he didn't want to work with anyone who wasn't capable, or at least not able or willing to work well with him.  He didn't like people getting in his way when they clearly had the ability to learn, grow, and cooperate.  And so far he was having a rather difficult time to find anyone who fit the build...  But then again..  That was his survivalist mindset speaking.  And even if he removed the factor of his own desperate need to survive, he didn't want any harm to come to Amora.  People could use him to get to her.  If they got close to Oras that meant being close to Amora.  Or even use her to get to him, kidnapping her and holding her hostage.  She could hold her own for the most part, but there were also individuals out there who could mop the floor with her.  Oras knew that for certain...  Normally he wouldn't share his concerns with anyone..  But with Amora.

"Listen Amora..  Until I met you I had no one in my life.  And until I found out that I, well.  Can't die, there was only one thing that mattered in my life:  Survive.  I took every precaution I could take, and that included selecting my allies with caution.  I am working towards changing my mentality by giving others a chance, but.  You can't change that kind of mentality that has been rooted in my mind and subconscious for years overnight...  Granted I don't think I can change it by myself either, but I'm doing what I can."  He fell silent after that.  It was something that had been weighing heavily on him for quite some time.  He didn't have a reason to live anymore other than protecting Amora, helping her grow, and just spending as much time with her as he could.  He had no personal goals or hobbies, nothing he enjoyed.  With his need to survive no longer a valid thing to fight for, it felt like there was a void in his life.  Even the guild didn't fill that void.  He felt distant from it despite being with them.  Most of the guild members he had tried interacting with were guarded, secretive, or even hostile.  With only the guild leader actually being open or helpful to him.  When Amora mentioned how she was a natural predator and how she always upheld the highest stealth when approaching her prey he chuckled.  "Oh?  Then how come your usual method of approach has been rush in with a takeover and obliterate them head on?  Or have you been h olding back on me?"  he finished with a grin.

When she mentioned like an evil organization he shook his head.  "It's more complicated than that.  Currently the magic council is corrupt.  They control all of the guilds and have the power to tell them what to do.  A while back, they apparently ordered the guilds to fight a war for them.  The target was an innocent and peaceful country that the guilds obliterated in the name of the magic council.  That was one of the many atrocities the council had committed via the guilds.  So eventually someone had enough of it.  The black rose guild is an organization of sorts.  They have influence and their own type of power all over Fiore, and are using that power to get closer to the magic council and tear the tyrants from their thrones once and for all.  Izayuki and I agree on one thing:  Whatever it takes so long as the innocent are not caught in the crossfire.  She's given me permission upon my asking to investigate any guild member I believe should be investigated.  Such as the hostile woman whose words were dripping with lies, or an assassin we had hired.  I investigate and confirm whether or not they are abiding by the guild's standards.  I also investigate other groups or people who may have information needed to get us closer to our goals.  As for blackmail, that's reserved for corrupt individuals who want to keep their seats of power.  We find information or an object that would expose them and they do whatever we ask them to do.  No one gets hurt and we are one step closer to overthrowing the magic council...  You can't tell anyone this by the way.  I'm telling you because I trust you, understand?"

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She looks towards Oras and just frowns ever so slightly at hearing her partner's words about how he had lives his life and finding herself pitying her partner ever so slightly. Wondering why he had chosen this life of his since there isn't really that much benefit and slight contradictions to what he wants to do to try and gain competence. To survive would require strong and confident allies that would fight and die for one another's survival like she had done for Oras during there jobs and how Oras has done for her before when she had been weakened on her last legs of a fight. Well if you wanted to survive Oras you should've worked with others and be willing to fight alongside others because look at you now. You are having a higher chance of survival because you're working alongside me to face all the challenges we have gone up against. She says towards her partner with a small shrug of her shoulders as she walks alongside her partner. She then looks towards Oras and pouts childishly at him making fun of her choice for going up against most of the opponents they have faced since her takeover magic. Giving him a light glare as she turns her head upwards at his insult just acting like a child. Well excuse me if you continuously just cause the fight to begin to stop anything from like a sneak option being present. I mean seriously the cult jobs have us not having a sneak option available at all. Plus along with that if anything you are most likely the one holding out on me mister chaotic soul person. She says in a childish pouty tone of voice as she then focuses on the path in front of her.

She looks towards her partner in utter confusion as he starts talking about things such as the idea of the magical council being evil, a war that was fought in the council's name that have murdered many people because of a simple command. Why would you join a guild then if you would be part of the murdering club of guilds if the council just gives you a simple command? That seems risky and ridiculous for you to do if you don't like the idea of the magic council. I mean you can fight against the council with a group of people now, buuut that doesn't really sound interesting to me. I mean the council can do whatever it wants as long as they don't do anything towards me and my home since i haven't seen them murder anything bad in my eyes. Amora says with a casual shrug of her shoulders as she looks to her partner. Also for your guild you do whatever you need to do Oras i am just gonna enjoy staying in your place within that guild so i can have a place to sleep without it being the cold ground. Turning to face the forest she looks around as the forest seems to get darker the deeper that they traverse into the forest as the forest is unnaturally dark as if possessed by something. The sun that was once out and shining a moment ago being replaced with a dark forest that is rather difficult to see in front of yourself with. Amora not able to see that much ahead of herself do to the shifting shadows that she can see lurking about as she smiles figuring that these were the tigers that were just observing the two mages that have entered there domain. She glances back towards her partner and just gives a very excited look within her eyes waiting for the command.

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At hearing her tell him he should have worked with others if survival was his main goal, he couldn't help but give a light laugh. To most people it would be decently clear he wasn't laughing at her at all, but he was worried that she would take it as an offense or insult. Hopefully his next words would clear it up before she did get offended. "It was kind of hard to do that when the last person I had trusted killed my close friends and obliterated my entire village. Family, friends, the wizard guild and all. Trusting anyone at that point was little more than a joke." The smile on his face faded as he thought of the sight of his village. Nothing left but ash and dust. The way the destruction had occurred ensured that life couldn't exist on it again. It was gone forever, erased from existence. His eyes darkened as he recalled the suddenness of it all. How quick it was, and yet how long time seemed to stretch as his friend's faces twisted to horror. Just before Oras himself had been knocked out by the wizard. He remained silent and weary until Amora spoke up again, upset with his joke and seeming to have taken it as a legitimate insult to her and her own skills. Oras chuckled, the dark cloud over him lifting for a moment as he rubbed her shoulder encouragingly. "I know Amora relax. I'm just making a joke is all. Or rather, attempting to make a joke. I haven't had a social life since I was nine, if you could call it a social life. Hard to get back into things, but I feel comfortable practicing around you." He once again fell silent as he recalled.. Nothing. Other than their run in with that wizard he remembered nothing from his childhood. He knew about his friends and family, but what they had done in their youth was lost to him forever. For some reason that wasn't what bothered him. What was in the past remained in the past. It was his memory of Raven. The one person he had the ability to wonder and question: Was she still alive? That and the fact that their failure to identify the wizard as evil and cruel in disguise resulted in their entire hometown being destroyed. It remained there, in the back of his mind at all times. That solid and unshakeable reminder that anyone could be hiding their true self. That you can never truly trust anyone... With some exceptions Oras understood.

When Amora asked about the guild, calling them all a murdering club for the magic council, and mentioning how they could just attack the council now. When she finished Oras would give out a sigh. "It's not that simple unfortunately. The council doesn't just control the magic guilds. They also control the military, government, and basically the entire land. If you do anything to piss them off you're wanted by everyone in the countryside. In addition to this, the council is extremely powerful when it comes to their magic. It's not the type of situation where you can just storm them and knock them all out. They could very easily shred any guild apart if they felt the need to. Not to mention they have the entire army and military at their command. As for that last part.. I want you to imagine for a moment Amora: Imagine a family with a father, mother, and two children. The father works hard in the fields to provide food for not only himself, but for his village. The mother handles the chores and raises the children. The two children play and grow together, maybe with a playful pet as well, while learning the family business so that they can take over at some point in the future. They live in peace, happiness, prosperity. Every day is a new adventure for the children, and for the parents every day is another memory with their children. They haven't done anything wrong. Now imagine one day, instead of waking to the sun in the morning, or being greeted by your pet you've grown up with. You wake up to find the fields and house on fire. Parents desperately trying to save their children as soldiers and wizards destroy everything in their path. They had done nothing wrong, yet they get slaughtered anyway... Even if you don't know these people. Even if they don't live in your forest. Even if your forest is unharmed and the animals within it are safe. Do you think it's right to ignore the deaths of the innocent?"

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She raises an eyebrow at her partner's words not finding much that is contradicting her statement that he should be trying to be more open with others since just because of the action of one person doesn't mean that should affect everyone else's chance to allowed to become a friend. She crosses her arms at her chest while staring directly at her partner with a questioning look while moving forward ever so slightly. That still in my mind doesn't deny the point that you should let your guard down once and awhile and be willing to work with others and let them become part of your life as allies in battle and just friends in life. Her gaze settles around the surroundings for only a small brief moment before a hand upon her shoulder makes her turn her head towards her partner and smiles rather happily for a brief moment when he trusts her hunting skills and verbalizes that trust. She just beams in happiness as she focuses forward on the path through the rather dark forest that has been cloaked in total darkness and shadow seemingly making everything that much harder to see and tell what would be trying to find the shadow tigers. Gazing around the area to try and see where they could possibly be lurking having sworn she saw a few of them lurking and watching the two mages a few moments ago. Well if you don't have a social life you should try to improve it when you can Oras since otherwise you will never have a chance to be able to talk with others ever. I mean you should force yourself out of what you're comfortable doing since you have that guild of yours to try and open yourself up to. She says in a rather flat and matter of fact tone of voice towards her partner.

She blinks slightly at what to her sounds like a very horrible extreme as her mind tries to comprehend the idea of just a lot of people just going to kill a innocent family just because they would told to do so. Especially since doing so wouldn't even send any kind of message or prove any kind of reason of being the strongest around the world or any sort of goal being reached. Again you humans are the most complicated beings i have ever met in my life Oras it seems like all you people like to do as a whole is just blindly follow the strong which i can understand and get behind, but it also seems those in power just abuse their power and thus should be put dumb as swiftly as possible since if what you say is true they just rule incorrectly. Amora says in a rather confused tone of voice with a small shrug of her shoulders at that as her mind wanders for a few moments to try and imagine the scene within her mind. Not noticing that the tigers they are meant to be hunting are slowly approaching from all sides but haven't struck just yet just observing the group from within the darkness. But yeah i guess you have a point Oras that i wouldn't allow any humans to be hurt by those abusing there strength since there would be no glory in such a fight. There wouldn't be any reason for such a fight to take place if the opponent has done nothing to deserve it, or have already accepted that they are entering a battlefield thus becoming free game. Like in that tournament they knew going in a fight was going to happen. She says towards her partner with a small nod of her head in understanding as she then focuses on her surrounding and sees all the tigers and grins to herself in excitement at the possible fight.

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Confusion was the first thing Amora seemed to feel when she heard his words, and reacted appropriately. She told him that what he said doesn't deny the fact the he should have let his guard down once and a while and work with others. He nodded with a chuckle. "And I will never deny that I should have opened up once in a while. I never did say that I shouldn't have did I? And yet at the same time, I'm sharing with you what my thought process had been. It is similar to your mindset of positions and power. How you disagree with some of the laws of the government, and how you believe in the alpha, the pack, combat and survival. Of food and shelter, proving yourself to be the best. It's all you've known and thus it's rooted into your subconscious. Even if you wanted to change that mindset of yours, it wouldn't be easy and would take time. It's the same thing for my case. Survival, lack of trust of others due to a personal experience I had as a child. Not to mention lectures from my mentor... I'm working on my trust issues, but I need people to be patient and understanding with me as I do. That's all." He smiled as Amora had beamed with happiness at his compliment but then snapped to attention as one of his hidden illusions spotted a tiger moving through the forest. The creature had seen his illusion and stared right at it. And through the illusion, stared at Oras, before vanishing. It didn't rush into the forest. It didn't attack the illusion. It just, vanished. So they could teleport at will. That much was definitely confirmed. When he heard Amora suggesting he work on his social life more his attention was pulled from their surrounding area to focus on his apprentice. He smiled gently. "Alright well let's start with this: What do you think a social life would be? And how would you suggest I work my way towards that?"

When she finished talking to him about how complicated humans were for the billionth time he spoke. "First things first: I wasn't there during the war so you can't count me among them. Secondly: When you have a seemingly invincible ruler who could crush you in a second, people typically obey out of fear rather than loyalty. However there are many people who do in fact prefer to follow orders blindly. These people either care too much about their master or leader to care about those they hurt. Or they simply seek a meaning in life, even if it's orders. That's usually what happens to soldiers. They get so used to receiving and following orders that they just can't live life any other way. Orders stop coming and they don't know what to do. They become lost." It reminded Oras of himself to an extent. His one goal: To survive at any cost, was no longer a goal anymore. And now he needed to find a new one. "As for your comment on those in power: yes. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. People tend to get so obsessed with the power they obtain that they simply do not care about anyone else. Only how to get more power, or get people to acknowledge their power. It's stupid, that you and I both agree on, but that's how it is." And finally, when she finished speaking he nodded. "Everyone needs a line they refuse to cross. Or else we're no better than criminals. And that, is my line. I don't care what is needed of me. I don't care what I have to do in order to reach goals. Even if it means I have to kill my targets. However the one thing I will not do is harm or kill those who are innocent."

645 // 3,838 // 7,500

Ohhhhhh. Nodding her head in understanding now at getting a example that she can finally understand and put to use within her mindset to make a full sense of it all now. Finding it that it makes some sense now since how one is raised affects how they think and feel about some thing since that fits for her at the very least. Since her very animal like mindset that she can easily recognize as such to most people around her would call her as such since she believes in the pack and the strength of it, and that survival of the fittest is basically the law of the universe. Well from here on out Oras you can try your best to improve yourself then. She says in a cheerful tone of voice with a nod of her head as she pulls gently on his shirt and tries to nudge her head over towards one of the tiger's that is watching them from the shadows. It would be hard to see and take notice but if one focused hard enough would notice the fact that the shadows are shifting and changing ever so slightly as a tiger would move to continue observing. She looks confused when her partner questions her on how he should continue forward with his own life. She looks towards the ground having to try and think about where to even go to begin to answer his question since she doesn't even understand people in just general. Uhmm...you could just start with your guild Oras and just ask to talk and hangout with them on something that isn't a job initially to try and get to know them. Just like ask questions, see what their personality is like to try and see if they are worth trusting by talking to them like you had me. Since at first you distrusted me like anybody else but i just kept pestering you for a conversation and you eventually learned to trust and like me. and a social like i would imagine is just having a group of friends and people you can trust to talk to and hangout without that situation having to be a life or death conversation. Amora says taking a wild guess as she then hears the next part of the topic change and nods her head slowly but still not understanding fully.

If people obey out of fear why not just try to get stronger and stronger till the point they can oppose this evil ruler and teach there apprentices to hate and not obey this ruler unless absolutely necessary. Eventually by doing so the entire kingdom would oppose the evil rulers and be able to just oppose through the threat of that they would have no pack left to direct onto the path they want. Unless they just killed everyone and moved onto invading other packs to try and control them. She says with a small shrug of her shoulders trying to understand anything at all from all of this idea of what this magical council has become if it is actually evil, and if so how did a evil council get put into power at all without some kind of form to replace them. Amora nods her head in understanding as her partner talks once more as she just shrugs her shoulder as she thinks on everything that has been said knowing that what her partner has said is actually true. 'Well except the power thing that sound absolutely silly since i mean i am totally sane and i am going to become the best so i don't know what he is even talking about.' Though the fact that there has to be some kind of line that one shouldn't cross is understandable and that those who aren't meant to participate in the fight should be left out is just common sense to the black haired girl. Though finding the idea that they spared the scarlet girl rather strange to her since the woman was far from innocent and has done everything to try and bring harm and annoyance to the people of that town when they took her down.

697// 3977/ 7500

Now that she had a good understanding of what Oras had been trying to say, she simply commented on how he should just try his best from now on. Hopefully over time, she would grow in the ability to discern what the other person was truly saying, verses what it appeared on the surface. If he could help train her in that, then he could send hidden messages through what would normally be general chat. If someone had the ability to listen to telepathic waves he didn't want them catching anything of importance in their conversations. Especially in a battle. At any rate he nodded to Amora in agreement. Despite how uncomfortable it was for him, he did need to try and reach out to other people. He still wouldn't open up to anyone if they seemed untrustworthy however. Jiyu had solidified that little suspicion of his. He would however try opening up if they initially seemed trustworthy... And if he couldn't tell he'd use his ability to feel emotions to ensure they weren't lying to him or anything. When he asked Amora what she believed he should do about his social life, as he had never really had one, she suggested spending time with them off duty. Try to get to know them more. He was assuming she meant other than combat tactics and such. She then used herself as an example, stating how he had just spent time talking with her, getting to know her personality. And eventually evaluating whether or not she was trustworthy. He was silent for a moment but then nodded. "I'll see what I can do. I think I know someone I can, test the idea with. At any rate there's not much I enjoy doing other than discussing topics of importance. I doubt they'll enjoy being 'social' around me in that case, but it's worth a shot nonetheless."

When Amora asked another why question he responded without hesitation. "The answer again is still fear. When someone in high power has a power so lethal and above most people's reach, and when said power is held over your head at all times, they tend not to question authority for fear of their lives. Even if they could get stronger, it's difficult to get anywhere near the power of the council. And even if someone was able to reach that point and declared war against the council, thousands of innocents would certainly die in the crossfire. By working in the shadows and reaching the council from behind their backs, we are ensuring that they will be taken down with minimal damage possible. It may not be 'honorable', 'fair', or possibly 'fun' to your eyes, but it's the best option to take them down with minimal collateral damage. When dealing with people in great power you have to remember a few things. One of them being that they don't just hold a gun to your head, but to the heads of everyone in their lands. Because they have power, they keep honorable people in line by holding civilians and families hostage without their knowing. They can also alter the media to paint the heroes as the villains. Fooling the majority of the population into believing that the council are the heroes trying to keep order and peace in Fiore, and that the assaulting group is in fact the villains trying to create chaos in the world. You remember that unprovoked war on an innocent and peaceful nation? The people were told that it wasn't innocent or peaceful, and the crowds believed it. That's what happens when you trust someone who seems good, honorable and pure, who are actually manipulative, deceitful, and abusive. They may be fooled into the villain's plans, but they are still innocent. And that's why an all out assault would never work the way we want it to."

He sighed and said it before she could. "Humans are complicated, yes they are. However there are no exceptions. You are complicated in your own ways, you just don't know it as well due to your lack of understanding of our culture and customs. Human beings are complicated by nature due to our ability to imagine, invent, create, learn, adapt, and change. It's why there are so many different cultures, religions, technologies and magics. Some are cruel and self centered. Others are noble and honest. Most are just trying to survive, or wanting to enjoy the pleasures of life before their short life is snuffed out in this unforgiving world. Regardless of how complex humans are, there is always a basic reason behind all of their actions. Mine used to be survival. Now, I'm in search of a new drive. A new passion." He looked around at the tigers and turned to Amora. "I'll let you do the hunting, but if you want I can disable their ability to teleport."

815 // 4,653 // 7,500

Amora nods rather happily as her partner accepts her way of doing hings since it would mean that he will finally have some more friends within that guild of his that he could actually learn to fight alongside with to face off against enemies that they will have within the future. That she is certain will be plentiful and rather dangerous for every aspect that could be defined by doing some type of harm to the duo. With the cultists they have faced being a perfect example of a dangerous foe that is just getting more and more dangerous every moment since just the cultists themselves can have psychologically damaging types of attacks like stealing ones magic away from them. The magic that defines the person and how they fight and survive within a world that is out out to kill them or use them for someone else's gain and benefit. She finds herself scowling in anger at remembering how utterly helpless and useless she felt within that moment that no matter what she would do that nothing would help her actually fight back against the man she had fought. At the very least if they had more allies back then they could've at least held him off and trapped the cultist to make sure that the couldn't do anything within the nature of escaping like he had done so. 'We need to find him and make him pay. Nobody steals my magic and gets away with it.' She thinks rather angrily and bitterly as her hands clench into tight fists wanting to hunt that man down and then proceed to tear him limb from limb after forcing him to give her previous magic back so that she could actually once more make use of it. Missing her wonderful spells that offered her a lot of fun to mess with the nature around her, but now having to be content with becoming one with the nature that she is protecting.

She looks towards her partner as her mind slowly connects the dots within her mind as her eyes widen for a breathe moment as she looks directly at her partner as her fists tighten for the briefest of moments. So you're just fine playing the villain to this tale than? To just fight and die and not get any glory given to you in this fight that you're having with this council? You know that some people will fight and die for there belief within a power that is how that cult works isn't it? She says questioningly to her partner as her emotions slowly become more and more volatile as her just worried expression slowly morphs into anger as her hands are balled into fists. You're just fine going out and killing the council possibly with your guild in secrecy so all of you can be called murderers and eventually asked by the people of Fiore for your death? She says towards her partner not trusting these humans to actually believe anything factual if there perceptions can be so easily warped to follow blindly the steps of another to there doom. Also knowing the phrase 'There is a fate worse than death.' And knowing that it would would for her partner since he would be killed the first time and then meet that fate worse than death whatever it would be in the very end. The black haired girl taking some calming breathes and more so importantly just some breathes to stabilize her irregular heartbeat that is pounding like crazy as her gaze slowly turns to face the tigers all around her having the perfect outlet for all of her emotions.

When she hears her partners words she just nods her head and morphs into sonic strike form ready to tear these being into shreds as her eagle wings stretch outward and up into the air. Her quills along her legs ready to strike outwards in all direction against these opponents as she waits for Oras to tell her that he has disabled the teleportation. Do it Oras let me kill them. She says with a snarl a low growl reverberating in her throat as all she sees is prey to slaughter and hunt to vent her anger onto. The tigers seemingly sense the tension rising also let out low growls and slowly come out but remain in the shadows at the sametime slowly moving around and observing Amora like a predator does prey. Seemingly deciding that the black raven haired girl is weak enough for them to take down and kill for daring to try and attack the tribe. Lets hunt! Amora shouts out followed by a loud cry of an eagle as she charges towards the first tiger knowing that by now her partner disabled the teleportation as she quickly moves forward with a smirk and throats her fist downward. Her attack forcing the beast into the ground as she unleashes a hailstorm of pointblank quills and feathers all along its body the shadow beast having not predicted that its teleportation ability would've been stopped. A feat that for its species has never been done before and thus allowing Amora an easy strike against it and possibly even a lethal strike considering her strength and the power of having multiple feathers and quills hitting the enemy and point blank range.

894// 4871// 7500

He heard her reply and sighed shaking his head. Of course she didn't get what he was saying, and in fact misunderstood the entire thing. "No no no, several things. The first being that we do not intend to 'go down in a blaze of glory' or 'play the martyrs'. The guild has been stacking up evidence long before I joined. And I intend to add to that massive list, including recorded confessions. While we're gathering evidence and confessions, we are also gathering intelligence, and placing our members in certain positions of power. Slowly making our way across Fiore until we have as much if not more political power as the magic council. Once that happens we get closer to the council position wise until we can learn more about them, as right now all we know is how overly powerful they are. Once we've gathered information on them, their magic and their personalities, we can begin setting up the trap. We also have been gathering allies such as other guilds and organizations, so our guild isn't the only one. Though it is the leader of the overall operation. Once all the pieces are set in place we release the evidence either prior to, during or after the trap is activated and the council is taken out for good. The public will know exactly what the council has done and how corrupt they are, and we appoint a group of pure, honest, noble individuals to take their place. Personally I don't care who they put in charge so long as the innocent don't suffer. On top of all of this, the guild excels at keeping to the shadows. They've never, and will never, let a slip up happen. If it has happened in the past, those who spoke and heard likely never got the chance to spread it further. To summarize: They aren't stupid. They're not going to play martyr and neither am I. I want to see the council removed as well but I'm not going to let myself get captured and tortured for eternity because of that. If things do go south I'll simply help release the evidence and lay low for a while, nothing more. Regardless of the outcome, Fiore could possibly be split on believing we were good or evil. There will be chaos either way but the destruction and death will be far less than an all out war against the council head on. I hope this at least reduces the amount of concerns and frustrations you have with me and the guild... Truth be told Amora, the end goal of removing the council is only part of why I joined the guild. I also joined because Izayuki can help me learn more about my soul, and I can use their assets to... Find someone I've been searching for. If she's still alive that is. And finally Izayuki is a powerful wizard, and I'm making attempts to trust her more. Not only that but I'm hoping she can be a friend of me, and hopefully you in the future. She and I share similar philosophies, so that helps. Please understand that I'm not going to just give up my life for something like this. The only reason I would ever risk my life, or risk eternal torment would be to protect you and any friend I make. I care too much about you to let anything happen to you."

When she angrily told him to go ahead and block their teleporting powers he sighed and nodded, cancelling them out. "I'll keep them from running away, but I'll mainly be observing them. Try to learn more about their abilities, skills and behaviors. Not only will we get paid for it, but it would be good to add to our list of knowledge. Also, remember not to kill more than thirty of them. We don't want them going extinct ok?" The tigers shifted immediately after he activated his spell, and they were filled with worry. They knew what was about to happen. They tried to run away but Oras formed massive walls of stone with spikes pointed inward, creating a trench in the process that boxed them all in. With nowhere else to run to, they turned to the wizards, anger and desperation on their faces and aura. Oras hoped with everything in his heart, that Amora would come to understand what he was saying, and not stay mad at him... Or scared for his fate. He cared about her and didn't want her to get hurt, but it was clear she felt the same about him. When he focused on her emotions, he could barely feel the fear that all the anger towards him was emanating from. While it hurt that she was feeling such emotions, it also warmed and comforted him that someone could, and actually did feel that way with him. That someone was actually concerned for him and his safety. It may actually be the first time anyone ever was.

837 // 5,490 // 7,500

The angered black haired mage blocks out most of what her partner says not willing to believe much of what he is saying do to the simple fact. That humans are just scared beings willing to believe and be brainwashed by whatever someone that they believe is in a high position in authority would tell them. Be it ones parents, the government like the magical council, or the entire environment in which they are raised, or as the cult has proven just a single person striking at another when they are at their lowest point in life. That people who are at there lowest are the easiest to change seemingly considering the cult following and what the knowledge they gained about one member could imply to all the others. A low growl of anger at the back of her throat remembering her family being killed and almost herself do to the ignorant nature of people that want to believe what they wish to believe and purge all who oppose such a mentality. She just focuses back on her prey to the tiger in front of her and punches it hard in the stomach once more while firing off another barrage of feather and quills in all directions hitting every single tiger within the area as she gazes towards them with her look of anger. Come at me if you dare try to fight the beast of war! She yells to them as she rips out a piece of the ground and punches it hard shot gun blasting that to the tiger. Amora points her claw in the other direction and lets out the sound snap to immobilize them all followed by the boiling hot water jet stream meant to scald them to death. The black haired girl just being a hunter killing machine of all her prey as she glides on over towards the tiger she shot gun blasted the rock at as she charges forward and watches as it jumps at her along with five pack mates. A psychotic grin appear on her face for only a moment as she punches one in the stomach making it move away from her while her other arm knocks the remaining three into the ground on top of each other. Leaving just the singular one left that she glares at as it hits her body causing her to stumble slightly and wince for a bit as it bites down along her body. However, even then her reptilian genes get to work slowly repairing the wound. You're dead beast. she says as she grabs it and forces it off of her as she tosses it upwards before punching it hard across the confined clearing.

All of Amora's anger that is continuously spawning being redirected entirely into every strike as her thoughts rage like a burning inferno. 'Thinks he can convince the masses that what he says his true. Get confesses out of the council that will only care for themselves what does he thinks he is? This isn't some fairy tale where everything can go as he desires the council is strong as he has said. They probably have some professional sensors at all times around them to be able to sense emotions and then manipulate peoples memories and thoughts to be more compliant with them. He can't deny that statement he has even said that anything is possible with magic.' She thinks angrily and bitterly as she doesn't even know why she is so pissed off beyond all logic and reason about this.

591//  5512// 7500

Oras didn't see any real change in her and was guessing she was blocking him out. His suspicion increased and solidified when he felt her anger only increase. He sighed and just sat down, not even bothering to research and observe the creatures around him. It wasn't worth it, not when his apprentice and friend was so furious with him, and refused to even listen to him. She had come here wanting to have fun for a change, and he wondered if she'd help him discover that feeling of having fun. In the end they were both sorely disappointed. Amora had spiraled into a state of raw bloodlust towards these creatures due to being angry at Oras. Oras was far from having fun, and in fact was somewhat depressed and saddened. He hated to see his apprentice like this, but he couldn't do anything until she had calmed down. When she was pissed off she was beyond his reach, no matter how caring and concerned he was. He could only hope that one day she would learn how important it would be to have control over herself and her own emotions. Until that day, this would prove to be dangerous. To her, her allies, her friends, and everyone around her in general. When she struck at the creature he had to look towards the ground, feeling sorry for these creatures. Somehow this was his fault. He had done or said something to have angered her, and now they were suffering because of it. Once again he felt that pang of guilt that screamed to him to just go solo. To leave and keep everyone from having to do, say and feel things that ruined their lives or the lives of others because of who Oras was. He felt that need to free them from the weight he brought with him... And yet he once again fought against that feeling. While it kept returning to him it wasn't something he could just let engulf him. He couldn't just abandon Amora, not her. Even if it would do her good, he couldn't. She was his first friend in forever. The first person he ever enjoyed being near since the slaughter. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He couldn't.. Somehow, he needed to find a way to fix this. To give both of them a reason for him to stay, and not leave. He had to find another way...

407 // 5,897 // 7,500

Amora glances at the prey around her with just a grin on her face as she focuses on the pure adrenaline her rage is providing her not even noticing her surroundings or whatever the tigers are doing or directing other creatures in the area to do while she is fighting. Amora just pushes forward smashes her fists against anything that gets into her way watching as the tigers usually just bounce away as she quickly follows up each hit with a barrage of feathers and quills. Firing them towards the opposition watching as those that are usually hit by that combination like to stay down and remain that way as she glances towards her partner that isn't really doing anything. her mind taking only a small moment to think on that fact since that means that these tiger who had there teleportation stopped by him are focusing on the ones actively hurting them rather then every danger in the area. 'Pack mentality of taking out the most common threat possibly? But why would they continue and not attack the seemingly helpless prey who is stopping there retreat of the whole pack?' She wonders to herself for only the briefest of moments not vocalizing those thoughts as she then returns to her attacking the creatures. She watches as the beasts slowly move right towards her to attack her as she remain strong and ready to fight very single one of them as feathers and quills are sent to this new wave of enemies who manage to dodge most of the attacks that are sent towards them with a few being punctured from the wave of her wall of projectiles.

With a small smirk amora then waits for the beasts to move towards her as she grabs one and quickly throws it to the barrier made by Oras as she follows that up by kicking five of them in the head with a sweeping attack with her legs as the bristles of the quills puncture and scrape along each of the beasts. She then quickly takes to the sky and once more snaps her claw to immobilize and trap these beasts in place as she flies down and starts breaking them down bit by bit to sate herself. breaking bones and breaking them down with repeated physical trauma along there entire bodies each strike knocking them around as she makes sure she is there to greet them as her strength is bumped up to 100% efficiency at all times. With Amora even within her range mode making sure to be extra careful to not harm the pelts too much since she has her respect as a hunter to keep. How many are left? She asks softly while trying to look around for any moving masses of black within the darkness.

468// 5980 // 7500

Oras finally looked up to see the tigers get destroyed one by one. They were all targeting Amora first and foremost because she was the greatest threat. However, as he watched them he noted that they were far more intelligent than they were lead to believe. He started scanning everything, and everywhere. Among all the chaos however he was finding it difficult to find what was causing this push in strategy. He tried to follow their movements but found no rhyme or reason for it just yet. It was good to distract himself from Amora's pure rage, and try to focus on the tigers themselves. Looking for strategy, connections, strengths and weaknesses. It especially distracted him when he couldn't find anything. It was getting frustrating for him... But then, he realized something. For some reason the tigers were trying to keep Amora away from a certain area. Specifically, an area of the wall he had conjured up out of nowhere. They tried to lead her away from the wall when she looked for another target, and if she got too close to the wall they'd rush in to attack her, coming from the wall. An attempt to push her back. She wasn't noticing this in her rage but he, as an observer, had. But, why? What was the point of it? Why that specific portion of the wall? Was that the direction of their home? Were there tigers on the other side trying to dig through it as an escape route? He wasn't sure... If he moved the tigers at the edges of the wall would be able to teleport so he couldn't go and investigate. He had to just wait and see. When Amora called out to ask how many were left he scanned the area. "...Twenty seven out of fifty. Three more would be the absolute limit Amora."

310 // 6,207

Amora nods her head but having this disappointment look in her eyes as she charges the area where they tigers were protecting knowing that is the best way to force them to confront her as she watches the entire pack jump towards her as she sighs softly knowing she couldn't risk killing more then three without wasting this species entirely. Being careful she slams her fist into the rib cage of one tiger breaking the ribs and causing them to puncture the heart as she tosses that one straight into the ground to avoid collateral, Firing off feathers of pin point needles and feathers into the killing one on the spot and forcing the others away from her as she then quickly bursts over toward the area where they are trying to keep her from as her fist swings downward to strike at whatever is there as her body pauses.

Her eyes going wide as her whole body just trembles within the darkness as her view of the entire world shrinks down onto this one image in front of her that she could swear she could hear the sound of her heart shattering into pieces. She feels wetness move down her cheek as she just stares at the sight as her whole body continues to tremble and shake at the sight knocking every emotion out of her except for anguish and despair that rips through her. her control over her magic totally gone as she is within her human form now looking entirely different from before as she stares at the sight in front of her. A baby tiger just mewling and pawing at a corpse she had decimated with extreme prejudice and without a single second thought within her mind. She finds herself sinking to her knees as she stares at the corpse of the tiger that has a singe mark all along its ribs and back from her water jet attack, multiple puncture wounds with feathers and quills still sticking out of the beast in various places none of them looking like a merciful way one would want to go out. Then worst of all seeing some parts of the body looking like they had just collapsed into itself from the strikes of her fists that decimated the creature that she doesn't even remember within her bloodlust to deal with her emotions. The entire fight having felt like one giant hazy memory that she couldn't even remember if she tried. She hears the gentle sounds of water hitting the ground as her tears just fall freely as Amora silently sheds tears as her mind tries to process what she has down. I'm.....i'm no better then them. She says in a choked up voice as the tears start falling freely at that point.

464// 6444// 7500

Oras watched as Amora destroyed a tiger in the most brutal way he'd seen yet.  This time the tiger was thrown into the wall that the tigers had been guarding and Amora rushed in to attack the next.  However she halted and Oras rushed over to see what had happened.  When he caught up with her he stopped and saw the infant tiger mewling with concern at the adult Amora had destroyed.  His shoulders sank as he realized what they'd been doing.  The tigers were sacrificing themselves to keep Amora as far away from the infant as they could.  The infant that had been confused as to why the ground rose up.  Confused as to why it heard cries and roars beyond it, yet out of reach.  And from what he could tell, the tiger was only just realizing what was happening.  He heard Amora's words and sat down beside her, pulling her now human form into his embrace.  The position she was in encouraged her to lean against Oras, and he wanted that to have been the case.  He wanted her to know that through happiness, pain, or anger, he was here for her.  He let her cry for a moment, knowing that she was deeply pained by this revelation.  And if his next words failed to do anything to help her, he hoped she could forgive him later.  He was not at all good with human interaction...  Yet, he hoped.  "You're wrong Amora..  They refuse to see the pain they caused.  They refuse to acknowledge what they've done.  You.  You see it.  And you'll use this to change for the better."  He reached out with both his hands, and his soul's ability to share emotions, to the infant.  Showing that neither of them meant any harm, and that Amora was sorry for it.  Essentially translating everything that had happened for the creature.  The tiger made it's way cautiously over to Oras, who stroked it's back.  "And unlike those towns folk Amora.  Unlike those cruel individuals who refuse to do anything about it."  He used his hand to lead the infant to Amora, which brushed against her and mewled it's pain, and it's longing for comfort.  "You aren't just willing to admit or atone to what you've done.  You're the type of person who does one step better.  You make sure you fix it to the best of your ability.  You don't have to just destroy Amora, or hunt.  Or prove that you're the best.  Building, growing, sharing.  These are also aspects of life."  He held Amora and the infant tiger close, embracing them both.

436 // 6,643 // 7,500

Amora leans against the person that has come such a big part in her life in such a short time span as tears well up in her eyes until finally she just starts sobbing into her partner's body while wrapping her arms around him tightly to have something to hold onto. The young black haired girl shaking and trembling as thoughts just flood her mind. 'You're nothing but a monster in human skin, you are nothing but a mindless beast of war, you don't have control over yourself or your takeovers. There animal instincts just become part of you.' Berating and belittling thoughts continue to pound into her as she just cries into her partner's arms with seeming no stop to them as she catches his words softly as she slowly raises her head towards him. Her face red, tears falling from her amber colored eyes as she sniffles every now and then as the tears just continue to fall. She slowly just sniffles as she rests her head on her partner's shoulders as she hears the pain of the tiger that breaks her heart even more as she extends her hand slowly to it as the creature brushes against her. She slowly picks up the creature with renewed tears streaming from her face as she holds it in her arms in a loving embrace as her hand slowly moves along its back. She bites her lower lip as she forces herself to take deep slow breathes to control her sobbing, heart rate, and everything about herself right now till she is back to normal.

I...i'll take care of him from here on out. I don't know if the tribe will accept him anyhow since we've touched him and since his...Her? Parents are dead now because of me. it's my responsibility to take care of him..or her from now on. She says in a soft tone of voice while keeping ahold of the small little tiger of darkness whose eyes sparkle with this almost sky blue to slightly greenish look to those beautiful blues. She holds onto the small creature gently and loving in her arms while cuddling up against her partner as she now knows she is going to have to take up an entirely new responsibility in her life. 'How do i even raise a baby tiger into a strong beast of prey?' she can only think as she looks down at the tiny guy knowing that if she hated reading before she will have to suck it up and do so anyhow just for the health and safety of this little guy. She slowly lifts the little tiger up slightly to examine its body parts and nods her head.Girl. She says simply at that before once more carefully putting him back down on her lap for the little baby female tiger to walk along. I smile softly at the cute little tigress moving about as she does seem weirdly stronger then other female tigers she has seen before. Which makes her curious if she is a oddity just in that aspect as well from looking different then normal tigers. Knowing that there is meant to be a word for such a thing but not able to remember it at all which isn't much of a surprise for the black haired huntress since words usually escape her mind if they are too big. She then thinks on Oras' words and slowly turns her head to look at him. Just like survival is all you have known...proving my strength and hunting has been all i've ever known it's how i just view this world. As just a giant food chain that i refuse to be at the bottom of i have to continue climbing it, and there is only one way to prove you've surpassed the other in my mind... She trails off not wanting to finish that sentence. Not after what she had just done to the tigers around her.

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When Amora told him she'd take responsibility of the poor animal, since she probably was right in that it's own family would not likely take it in because of everything they had done. And more than likely because of the guilt she felt for what she had done to them. She returned his embrace, and he blushed a little when she cuddled against him but said nor did anything. Just keeping the embrace going as long as she wanted it. She was going through so much right now. Everything she was used to doing. Everything Oras had warned her about, she was seeing today. It was the consequences of her actions and while she was now learning... Oras wished she didn't have to learn it this way. When she pulled away he'd look her in the eyes, a comforting gaze emanating from him. "You won't be alone in this Amora. I don't care how guilty or responsible you feel, I'm here to help you whenever and wherever you need it. I can help identify what it needs by sensing it's emotions until you can identify them yourself. I can help you figure out ways to teach it. To help it grow. I may not be good at interacting with humans, but who says I'll be just as bad at interacting with animals?" He felt like his joke was humorous, but would only chuckle if Amora also chuckled. He knew she was hurting and didn't want to make light of the situation if she was not ready for such a thing. Still, he wanted to do anything he could to make her feel better. To encourage her and to strengthen her, not put her down in any way.

He watched as she lifted the creature to identify it's gender. He smiled in mild humor as the infant struggled, uncomfortable at how it was being picked up and moved. When she put the tiger down again on her lap, the creature moved around on it's own again and he saw Amora smile. At least she was feeling a bit better he thought to herself. Though no doubt she'd have grief and guilt that Oras would have to help her deal with. Oras had avoided such difficulties in his own life by keeping himself isolated from everyone and anyone. By traveling the wilderness and visiting then leaving towns. By not attaching himself to any person or group. If people died he knew that was natural. If he couldn't save them then it wasn't going to happen. But, when he attached himself to people. When he became friends with Amora, and when he allied himself with Izayuki, and loosely to her guild. He opened the door for him to feel guilty in the future. Perhaps helping Amora deal with her guilt, would allow him to better prepare for if he felt the same. Though in the back of his mind, he knew he would never be truly prepared... Suddenly he saw Amora turn her head towards him, her face mixed with emotions. He heard what she said. About how survival had been all he'd ever known, which was why it was so hard to open up to others. To have a normal conversation or socialize with them. To trust them. She then moved on to how proving her strength and go hunting had been all she'd ever known. How she absolutely refused to be at the bottom of the food chain, to continue to climb it. Then she cut off and he knew what she was saying. "It sounds to me like you're a survivalist too Amora.. Proving your strength so that you aren't attacked so often. Hunting in a world where the only law is kill or be killed. Climbing a food chain to decrease the chances of you being another's target. Our methods of surviving may be different. Mine to isolate myself from anyone and everyone, cut off from the rest of the world. Yours to charge it head on and force it to cease it's attempts to harm you. But in the end, we're both survivalists with that mindset... We both need to find a reason to live. A personal goal to fight for, to live for. One that doesn't require us focusing only on how we can live the next day. We should never throw our lives away, but to live in this world without losing ourselves. We need a goal to channel our survivalist natures towards... I guess, we'll just have to find those goals together Amora. Because regardless of what sort of survivalist we are. Survivalists, stick together." He placed his hand on hers to comfort her, looking into her eyes to reassure her. They would learn. They would grow. They would help and aid each other. Oras didn't see an apprentice anymore. He saw a friend. A close friend he could never abandon. An ally he'd risk his life time, and time, and time again to save. He'd risk any torture to preserve her mind, heart, soul and body. To hell with anyone else, she would be his top priority. Because she could understand him, as he could understand her.

After all. That's what friends are for.

870 // 7,514 // 7,500 - Word Count Reached!!

She watches her new precious...i believe people called them pets as she watches her new pet as she runs her hand gently along its back as it slowly walks from one lap to the next as she glances towards the corpse of its mother and the various corpses that surround the duo not even knowing what to do with them all. There job is to take the pelts of them all to sell though inside she can only feeling a sickening sinking feeling at such a thought of doing that to these poor creatures that didn't deserve her mercilessly slaughtering them instead of treating them like the precious creatures of nature that they are. To give them mercy as fellow honorable beasts of prey instead of just being a ruthless uncaring beast like she had become. A small smile crosses her fact at hearing that her partner is willing to help her raise the little tiger that they are now going to have to raise together apparently. She just rests her head against his body as she closes her eyes in contentment while continuing to watch the little tiger move around wondering how she is going to take care of it to get it use to human society and rules a small smile comes to her face along with a small giggle as a image comes to mind. The thought of the little tiger jumping to a food stand and biting down and taking some food for itself like a little mischievous thing. Thank you so much Oras though...we should get..our little girl out of here. She says not really having a name even though she wish she had one to call her new companion that is going to join her on her adventures as a small longing forms in her heart. That her new female tiger can forgive Amora for the monster that she is and the side that she will have to view over and over again, and forgive her for what she had done to its family.

She looks towards her partner as fresh tears start to form as she listens to him and the subtle kind gesture of him putting his hands on her as she rests her head against his shoulder and just says barely loud enough for him. You..idiot you don't need to say that. She says softly since not knowing what else to say, but if Oras sensed with his emotion teller he could tell that the black haired huntress was very grateful for his words as she holds onto his hand tightly. Needing that sense of comfort as she feels something nudge her as she looks down towards the small tiger as she hesitantly moves her hand forward and pets the small creatures head down towards its back. Such soft fur. She says softly as if in amazement about the little creatures fur something that she has never appreciated on a level that she can now since she is dealing with a live one to love and raise. Amora feeling uncomfortable and unsure of what to do next in the longest time now with having the idea that she has to search for a new goal in life. 'But what would that even be? All i ever known is hunting and killing to be the top.' She thinks to herself as she glances down as the black huntress has to deal with something she has never had to think of.

what even is her purpose in this world besides just being a mindless beast that kills to the top?

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