Itori wasn't sure what kind of disease had taken hold of Imai, but it was clear that it wouldn't be cured with normal means. Her own attempts at healing him with her magic hadn't worked, and it was only after extensive study that it had been discovered that there was a certain plant which contained the antibodies. With all the higher ranked members of the guild being busy with their own tasks it fell to the kitsune to go and retrieve the plant, or more specifically the seeds.
For the disease to be able to avoid removal through most healing magics it had to be a particularly incidious type. Healing magic came in a lot of different shapes but they generally were intended to remove irregularities or known unwanted effects on the body, so it was most likely that this disease had successfully disguised itself as part of Imai's body even though it made him unable to get out of bed from the pain.
The birds flying far above and any other observes would see a streak of white move across the landscape, travelling upwards as it climbed the slopes of the Phoenix Mountains. The foxgirl was making good use of her years of experience travelling both slowly and quickly, covering ground with haste as her three tails trailed behind her. Her ears were aimed forward as she listened to the countless sounds that filled with the world, the steady hum of the ground and the more playful whistling of the wind, her own footsteps which pushed against dirt and left footsteps in snow.
She'd have to find spots where there was lots of bamboo, and hope she could find some of the rare seeds which could be found amidst the much more numerous common type. From what she had heard it wasn't entirely clear why this rare type of bamboo existed in the midst of the more familiar type, but the best guess was that it was some form of mutation that occasionally popped up which was stable enough to survive even if it never managed to overtake the normal bamboo. Whatever the answer was to why it existed, right now it was a blessing. Itori didn't think that whatever disease had struck Imai was fatal but she'd rather not let a fellow guild member suffer for too long.
Sniffing the air and listening intently she noticed that up ahead there was a valley in the mountains, and that there were a lot of rod-like plants filling it. Not wasting any time the kitsune changed her course, traversing the treacherous paths of the tall and proud mountains with relative ease (althugh she did slow down to avoid an otherwise inevitable accident). Once she found a path that would get her past the last obstacle she put more strength in the following steps to quickly climb upwards, sending pebbles rolling down the narrow path even as she reached the apex and gazed out upon the field below. It wasn't a very big valley but it was very green, filled with bamboo which apparently was thriving quite well up here. She supposed that even if it was a bit colder than you'd like the creeks of melting permafrost and the air far away from civilization would be good for growth.
With more care than with her ascension she made her way down into the valley, reaching out with one hand to brush her fingers against the first bamboo branch in her path. It was definitely healthy, but it was the wrong colour for her purposes and even if it was she was supposed to gather the seeds before they sprouted. A difficult challenge, given how notorious bamboo was for rapid growth.
Once she'd found a good spot amidst all the bamboo she came to a halt and closed her eyes, focusing on her ears as she swivelled them about to get a good grasp of her surroundings. She could hear the humming of the earth and the singing of the skies, as well as the chatter that was the plants. Each plant produced its own sound alike to their kin, which to Itori's unusual ears sounded like the air was filled with music. As it always was. She often wondered what it was like for people who said it was quiet.
If the yellow bamboo was truly different from the green bamboo she should be able to hear it, which would make the search a lot easier. However she didn't know the difference until she found it and even then it would most likely be a faint difference. She really had her work cut out for her here although she would quickly admit that it still was better suited for a sharp sensory type like her than your average combat oriented mage.
It took several minutes of listening intensely before she noticed that near the edge of the valley there was a song which was different from the rest. It sounded a lot like the rest of the bamboo, the vibrations its mere existence made in the air similar, but the difference was big enough that it was undeniably there. The kitsune made her way over, careful not to step on any plants on the way there, until she finally was kneeling in front of a patch of ground where a single yellow bamboo seed was visible. Looking around there were no bamboo plants of that shade which supported Itori's idea that the yellow bamboo was a mutation of the common bamboo.
Even as she picked it up and put it inside her pouch Itori's eyes widened as she heard the screech of an angry bird far above, but descending quickly. Shooting upwards she spun around and looked upwards, her eyes narrowing as she noticed a bird of flame heading straight for her. Only when its tailfeathers threatened to graze the bamboo did it flap its large wings to come to a halt, screeching in fury as it hovered above the sea of green rods with cinders and small sparks of flame detaching from its form and fading away.
Itori had already drawn her sword, unsure why this was happening but at the ready to fight. Why would a phoenix suddenly attack? So far as she was aware they weren't supposed to be aggressive towards human-sized animals. Was it protecting its territory? Her question was answered when she heard rumbling from its fiery stomach. It was hungry... and protecting its food source? That still sounded strange to the kitsune, but she didn't have time to think about it any further as the phoenix apparently decided that it was time ot strike.
She dove towards the ground and rolled as the phoenix tried to stab her with its hot beak, a wind that wouldn't be amiss in a desert washing over her back and tails before she pushed herself back upright and looked back at the bird. It was already ascending and turning around, clearly planning to keep divebombing her until it hit. The bamboo around Itori was already scorched. She supposed that she should be thankful it hadn't outright ignited, because that would most likely set the entire valley ablaze.
Which also meant that she had to stop the phoenix as quickly as possible before something DID ignite.
Itori was a big supporter of thinking things through and being careful. She wasn't fond of violence so she preferred deception, diplomacy and stealth. However she wasn't going to lose this phoenix easily and it wasn't going to listen to her either. She made an attempt to talk and it just screeched at her, its powerful cry drowning her out. Deception? A phoenix was a powerful magic creature: deceiving it was going to be difficult...
The phoenix was already beginning its descend, leaving the foxgirl grinding her teeth together as she cursed her lack of time internally. She couldn't think of a plan if she didn't have time! Making several gestures with her hands she then held them out in front of her and above her, her palms facing the phoenix as a ghostly barrier appeared, large enough to cover both herself and the surrounding bamboo. It wouldn't keep out purely physical objects, but the phoenix had a soul just like she did, and soul and body were connected. The phoenix's soul would be pushed back and its body would follow.
The phoenix hit the barrier without hesitation, its flames pressing against the barrier as its beak tried to pierce it. Itori narrowed her eyes further as she felt sweat roll down her forehead and back not only from the heat but from the exertion as well. The flames were burning away at the barrier, weakening it even as the frontal attack attempted to break through fully.
She needed to put more power into it or the entire valley would go up in flames anyway. And she might get burned down with it. It wouldn't be her first death but she wasn't fond of the occurrence and she needed the bamboo seeds for Imai...
Putting everything into restoring the barrier to full strength and pushing back the phoenix the kitsune summoned all of her energy reserves. Her three tails were displayed behind her as her hands were glowing from the amount of mana she was pouring into this, the air vibrating with heat and power as the spectral barrier weakened and strengthened. For a long time now Itori had been a mere three-tails. Honing her skills and patiently accumulating more magic power. She wasn't one to seek glory or power for no reason, but any kitsune was supposed to slowly acquire more tails. That and she wanted to make sure she would be strong enough to survive future encounters, as Sabertooth's involvement with other worlds made it likely that she'd be facing challenges much harsher than she was used to.
Now that she was being pushed to the limits all that time training, refining and growing finally showed its fruits. Itori's entire body turned ethereal, a fox of silver and pale blue. The barrier suddenly became so strong as to become visible even to those without any spiritual sense at the same time as the spiritual fox displayed five tails instead of three. The phoenix was launched backwards as if all its strength was thrown back at it, flapping its wings desperately in an attempt to recover and not crash.
Itori herself exhaled heavily, panting as her form returned to normal. She could feel the two additional tails drooping down together with the familiar triplet of furry limbs, as natural as if they'd been there all along. She would have preferred to sit down and take a breather but the phoenix hadn't been defeated, only repelled. After another deep breath she straightened her posture and focused her vermilion eyes on the vermilion bird, which also looked like it wasn't as energetic as before and still was somewhat unstable from its sudden ballistic flight.
Closing her eyes Itori began to weave a fake reality, her magic turning from spirit to illusion as she imagined a different truth and used her energies to temporarily force that fake reality to cover the real one. She reached out with her mind and touched the phoenix's, her ears catching many sounds both physical and ethereal which she used to make the phoenix feel something that wasn't truly there. Now that the phoenix wasn't in the middle of attacking she had the time for this, and she made sure to use that time for all it was worth.
The phoenix appeared to turn from angry and surprised to confused, staring down at Itori and the bamboo before suddenly spreading its wings and flapping them powerfully, ascending back into the skies from which it had come to defend its territory. Itori meanwhile let out a sigh of relief as she returned to the task at hand. Eventually the phoenix would remember its hunger, but for now she'd manage to make it believe that its belly was full and that there was no reason to bother the fox down below.
With the phoenix out of the way and with one yellow bamboo seed already collected to use as a reference it didn't take long before Itori walked out of the valley with at least a dozen of the oddly coloured seeds, all carefully wrapped in cloth and securely tucked away. She would make sure they wouldn't be crushed on her way back, but she also isolated each and every one to ensure that they wouldn't begin sprouting. She was familiar enough with medicine to know that you had to be very careful with any medicine, especially when that medicine came from a plant which was known for growing so fast that you could actually see it happen if you had the patience to wait a couple of hours.
WC: 2147
For the disease to be able to avoid removal through most healing magics it had to be a particularly incidious type. Healing magic came in a lot of different shapes but they generally were intended to remove irregularities or known unwanted effects on the body, so it was most likely that this disease had successfully disguised itself as part of Imai's body even though it made him unable to get out of bed from the pain.
The birds flying far above and any other observes would see a streak of white move across the landscape, travelling upwards as it climbed the slopes of the Phoenix Mountains. The foxgirl was making good use of her years of experience travelling both slowly and quickly, covering ground with haste as her three tails trailed behind her. Her ears were aimed forward as she listened to the countless sounds that filled with the world, the steady hum of the ground and the more playful whistling of the wind, her own footsteps which pushed against dirt and left footsteps in snow.
She'd have to find spots where there was lots of bamboo, and hope she could find some of the rare seeds which could be found amidst the much more numerous common type. From what she had heard it wasn't entirely clear why this rare type of bamboo existed in the midst of the more familiar type, but the best guess was that it was some form of mutation that occasionally popped up which was stable enough to survive even if it never managed to overtake the normal bamboo. Whatever the answer was to why it existed, right now it was a blessing. Itori didn't think that whatever disease had struck Imai was fatal but she'd rather not let a fellow guild member suffer for too long.
Sniffing the air and listening intently she noticed that up ahead there was a valley in the mountains, and that there were a lot of rod-like plants filling it. Not wasting any time the kitsune changed her course, traversing the treacherous paths of the tall and proud mountains with relative ease (althugh she did slow down to avoid an otherwise inevitable accident). Once she found a path that would get her past the last obstacle she put more strength in the following steps to quickly climb upwards, sending pebbles rolling down the narrow path even as she reached the apex and gazed out upon the field below. It wasn't a very big valley but it was very green, filled with bamboo which apparently was thriving quite well up here. She supposed that even if it was a bit colder than you'd like the creeks of melting permafrost and the air far away from civilization would be good for growth.
With more care than with her ascension she made her way down into the valley, reaching out with one hand to brush her fingers against the first bamboo branch in her path. It was definitely healthy, but it was the wrong colour for her purposes and even if it was she was supposed to gather the seeds before they sprouted. A difficult challenge, given how notorious bamboo was for rapid growth.
Once she'd found a good spot amidst all the bamboo she came to a halt and closed her eyes, focusing on her ears as she swivelled them about to get a good grasp of her surroundings. She could hear the humming of the earth and the singing of the skies, as well as the chatter that was the plants. Each plant produced its own sound alike to their kin, which to Itori's unusual ears sounded like the air was filled with music. As it always was. She often wondered what it was like for people who said it was quiet.
If the yellow bamboo was truly different from the green bamboo she should be able to hear it, which would make the search a lot easier. However she didn't know the difference until she found it and even then it would most likely be a faint difference. She really had her work cut out for her here although she would quickly admit that it still was better suited for a sharp sensory type like her than your average combat oriented mage.
It took several minutes of listening intensely before she noticed that near the edge of the valley there was a song which was different from the rest. It sounded a lot like the rest of the bamboo, the vibrations its mere existence made in the air similar, but the difference was big enough that it was undeniably there. The kitsune made her way over, careful not to step on any plants on the way there, until she finally was kneeling in front of a patch of ground where a single yellow bamboo seed was visible. Looking around there were no bamboo plants of that shade which supported Itori's idea that the yellow bamboo was a mutation of the common bamboo.
Even as she picked it up and put it inside her pouch Itori's eyes widened as she heard the screech of an angry bird far above, but descending quickly. Shooting upwards she spun around and looked upwards, her eyes narrowing as she noticed a bird of flame heading straight for her. Only when its tailfeathers threatened to graze the bamboo did it flap its large wings to come to a halt, screeching in fury as it hovered above the sea of green rods with cinders and small sparks of flame detaching from its form and fading away.
Itori had already drawn her sword, unsure why this was happening but at the ready to fight. Why would a phoenix suddenly attack? So far as she was aware they weren't supposed to be aggressive towards human-sized animals. Was it protecting its territory? Her question was answered when she heard rumbling from its fiery stomach. It was hungry... and protecting its food source? That still sounded strange to the kitsune, but she didn't have time to think about it any further as the phoenix apparently decided that it was time ot strike.
She dove towards the ground and rolled as the phoenix tried to stab her with its hot beak, a wind that wouldn't be amiss in a desert washing over her back and tails before she pushed herself back upright and looked back at the bird. It was already ascending and turning around, clearly planning to keep divebombing her until it hit. The bamboo around Itori was already scorched. She supposed that she should be thankful it hadn't outright ignited, because that would most likely set the entire valley ablaze.
Which also meant that she had to stop the phoenix as quickly as possible before something DID ignite.
Itori was a big supporter of thinking things through and being careful. She wasn't fond of violence so she preferred deception, diplomacy and stealth. However she wasn't going to lose this phoenix easily and it wasn't going to listen to her either. She made an attempt to talk and it just screeched at her, its powerful cry drowning her out. Deception? A phoenix was a powerful magic creature: deceiving it was going to be difficult...
The phoenix was already beginning its descend, leaving the foxgirl grinding her teeth together as she cursed her lack of time internally. She couldn't think of a plan if she didn't have time! Making several gestures with her hands she then held them out in front of her and above her, her palms facing the phoenix as a ghostly barrier appeared, large enough to cover both herself and the surrounding bamboo. It wouldn't keep out purely physical objects, but the phoenix had a soul just like she did, and soul and body were connected. The phoenix's soul would be pushed back and its body would follow.
The phoenix hit the barrier without hesitation, its flames pressing against the barrier as its beak tried to pierce it. Itori narrowed her eyes further as she felt sweat roll down her forehead and back not only from the heat but from the exertion as well. The flames were burning away at the barrier, weakening it even as the frontal attack attempted to break through fully.
She needed to put more power into it or the entire valley would go up in flames anyway. And she might get burned down with it. It wouldn't be her first death but she wasn't fond of the occurrence and she needed the bamboo seeds for Imai...
Putting everything into restoring the barrier to full strength and pushing back the phoenix the kitsune summoned all of her energy reserves. Her three tails were displayed behind her as her hands were glowing from the amount of mana she was pouring into this, the air vibrating with heat and power as the spectral barrier weakened and strengthened. For a long time now Itori had been a mere three-tails. Honing her skills and patiently accumulating more magic power. She wasn't one to seek glory or power for no reason, but any kitsune was supposed to slowly acquire more tails. That and she wanted to make sure she would be strong enough to survive future encounters, as Sabertooth's involvement with other worlds made it likely that she'd be facing challenges much harsher than she was used to.
Now that she was being pushed to the limits all that time training, refining and growing finally showed its fruits. Itori's entire body turned ethereal, a fox of silver and pale blue. The barrier suddenly became so strong as to become visible even to those without any spiritual sense at the same time as the spiritual fox displayed five tails instead of three. The phoenix was launched backwards as if all its strength was thrown back at it, flapping its wings desperately in an attempt to recover and not crash.
Itori herself exhaled heavily, panting as her form returned to normal. She could feel the two additional tails drooping down together with the familiar triplet of furry limbs, as natural as if they'd been there all along. She would have preferred to sit down and take a breather but the phoenix hadn't been defeated, only repelled. After another deep breath she straightened her posture and focused her vermilion eyes on the vermilion bird, which also looked like it wasn't as energetic as before and still was somewhat unstable from its sudden ballistic flight.
Closing her eyes Itori began to weave a fake reality, her magic turning from spirit to illusion as she imagined a different truth and used her energies to temporarily force that fake reality to cover the real one. She reached out with her mind and touched the phoenix's, her ears catching many sounds both physical and ethereal which she used to make the phoenix feel something that wasn't truly there. Now that the phoenix wasn't in the middle of attacking she had the time for this, and she made sure to use that time for all it was worth.
The phoenix appeared to turn from angry and surprised to confused, staring down at Itori and the bamboo before suddenly spreading its wings and flapping them powerfully, ascending back into the skies from which it had come to defend its territory. Itori meanwhile let out a sigh of relief as she returned to the task at hand. Eventually the phoenix would remember its hunger, but for now she'd manage to make it believe that its belly was full and that there was no reason to bother the fox down below.
With the phoenix out of the way and with one yellow bamboo seed already collected to use as a reference it didn't take long before Itori walked out of the valley with at least a dozen of the oddly coloured seeds, all carefully wrapped in cloth and securely tucked away. She would make sure they wouldn't be crushed on her way back, but she also isolated each and every one to ensure that they wouldn't begin sprouting. She was familiar enough with medicine to know that you had to be very careful with any medicine, especially when that medicine came from a plant which was known for growing so fast that you could actually see it happen if you had the patience to wait a couple of hours.
WC: 2147
