Werewolf Hunt (Job w/ Shion)

Shion bristled at the insinuation that she needed jewels, irked at the idea she needed help. Then she realized she did need the jewels, no matter how much she tried to deny it. After all, the horribly small amount of jewels in her pocket proved it. She unconsciously shifted to her hand over her scarf, seeking comfort. After this job, she'd never accept help again. She would not be weak. She couldn't afford to be weak.

When he introduced himself as Johann van Weiss, her first thought was Fancy, probably rich, is he carrying money on him...? she quickly shook herself of the thought though, instead giving the tiniest nod of acknowledgement she could. When he called the werewolves beasts, she almost snapped at him. After all, Shion herself was more beast than man. So instead, when he finished his...spiel, she corrected him.

Her voice was as soft as she could make it, which wasn't very soft. Imagine someone who usually glares at people maybe just...staring intensely at them instead. Her voice was like the scrape of stone on stone, and as cold as the winters on the mountains she'd lived in as a child.

"People," she corrected. "Those werewolves are people who've...who've made bad choices. And...yeah, I will,"

Maybe Shion was trying to convince herself as well, with how fucking sad and weak her voice is. She internally threw herself off of a building. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? the voice that narrated her life roared. The voices came rushing back, faster, faster, faster-----

She shook them off. There was no time to be sentimental, not when people's lives were at stake. Professionalism, she reminded herself. She was having a breakdown while people were losing their lives. With that out of the way, she started toward the forest Johann had pointed to, giving short sentences on herself so that she didn't have to talk later.

"Yes, my name is like the flower. My last name is Hoshizora, I'm fifteen, I work with poison, as in touch and releasing gasses from my pores, the reason I don't wear gloves is 'cuz I don't have enough jewel, and I have a scar that goes from the middle of my right eyebrow to just below my right eye cuz I do. I'm also bad at...language. I learned it from a tavern in the middle of the woods, lotsa cursin' and sh-stuff. I'm also sorta...feral." the scarf around her neck started to feel stifling, but she didn't dare dislodge it for fear that he would see the scar. Most people started to avoid her after that, and she knew what they said.

Suicide attempt.

She gritted her teeth just thinking about it, another raspy, low growl rising from her throat. They knew nothing about her. By this time, the sun had raised just above the trees of the forest, golden rays shining across the grass underneath her feet and making the dew there shine like pearls. The morning fog blocked her vision slightly, making her just know this was going to be a hard job. It was something deep in her bones, even though this was her first job (the passport one didn't count). Of course, she could be wrong.

Shion was thinking so deeply she walked headfirst into a tree. She fell backwards, into her ass. A stream of curses, a mix of draconic and whatever-the-fuck-this-language-is-called flew from her mouth. As revenge, she let her fingers gently touch the bark, letting all her repressed rage come in the form of Laetiporus sulphureus, which caused the tree to start rotting immediately. It died within a matter of minutes, the natural process overridden from the power of rot and decay.

Shion smiled to herself, before realizing that Johann may have seen the entire fucking thing.

Shit.

Shion blinked at the hand then back at Johann, distrust shining in her eyes. Of course, he'd done nothing to antagonize her, but people couldn't be trusted. Not when she was still so weak. She was just reaching to accept the hand, when---

Shion leapt to her feet within a few seconds, watching with slitted eyes as the wolf tried to tear off Johann's arm. She suddenly loosed her muscles, slouching slightly, feet apart and fingers spread wide, slightly curled, as if ready to slash, rip, tear----

"Yes Sir!" she barked back, letting herself leak intent in waves, dark, menacing, bloodthirsty---

Killing Intent, Polonium had told her on one of the rare days he was in a good mood. He'd shown her how to position herself just right, the way a person's mouth quirked at exactly the right angle, the way someone's body was positioned in exactly that way.

Then wolves leapt out from the underbrush. Her mouth opened wide, a grin of excitement and adrenaline stretching across her face. Excitement was rushing through her veins like wildfire, giving her a light feeling in her chest. She couldn't help the excited cackle that burst from her mouth, looking slightly deranged. The wolf nearest to her leapt toward her, and she could smell, she could hear, she could see---

Shion lunged forward, grabbing the wolf's fur and throwing it toward the ground. Handfuls of fur ripped off in bloody clumps, and another laugh burst from her. She dug her hands deep into the wounds, letting poison flow through to her hands and into the wolf. Poisoned gas rose from her in waves.

The wolf was snarling, biting and scratching deep gouges in her arms, legs, torso, face; wherever it could reach from the ground. She knew she would feel it later, the radiating pain, but right now she was in an adrenaline high. Blood dripped from a cut on her forehead into her eye, her scar (it twinged sometimes, when it was about to rain) cut open from the wolf's desperate attempts.

Then she was suddenly rolled over, her hands still in the wolf's neck. Her shaking hands had messed something up, she knew it, but at that moment she couldn't give a shit. Her whole body was shaking and she was laughing, because at that moment she felt alive. The wolf snarled above her, it's muzzle leaning down to rip out her throat. She bared her teeth at it, knife-sharp and tinged red from the blood. It flinched, just slightly, and Shion took that as an opportunity to rip its neck up away from its body.

She'd dragged on the fight longer than necessary, but she didn't care because alive, alive alive, she felt so alive.

Another wolf leapt for her. With a mad cackle, filled with promise and dark intent, she leapt toward it. It flinched back at the way she moved, something dark and deadly. It'd always been the omega, weak and horrible at fighting. The omega quickly flipped over onto it's back, showing its stomach as a show of obedience and subservience.

Shion scowled at the omega, cursing her luck. Adrenaline was still rushing through her veins, her heartbeat thundering in her chest, and killing intent leaking from her in dark waves. Taking out her only weapon, the sharpened animal bone, she stabbed at it's soft belly and dragged the bone all the way up to it's jaw.

It died immediately.

There were other wolves to deal with, so she quickly snatched up her sharpened animal bone and went on to the other wolf. There were two this time, and Shion suddenly knew, something dark, bone deep and bloodthirsty in her telling her that she didn't have the time. She was going to bleed out eventually, the pain would come back when the adrenaline rush faded, and she would pass out.

Shion was a mess. Her hair was everywhere, (curse long hair, in battle at least), her scarf was barely on her neck, exposing her scar to the world, there was a wound on her forehead dripping across her eye, her scar was ripped open, her torso had multiple deep gouges in it, something was wrong with her left ankle, and her right leg had a bite mark deep enough to see the bone. Her hands were covered in blood and guts, and for some reason blood was smeared around her mouth (she'd probably bitten a wolf somewhere, somehow).

She was being reckless, she knew, but she didn't care. It was her first fight in ages, and the feeling of blood under her hands make her feel alive.

She went for the two wolves that were sticking together. They were most likely the Alpha and the Beta. They were the ones that were most likely leading the pack. Her grin stretched even wider, and she looked slightly deranged. This was going to be so fun.


"Cover me while I go for the leaders of the pack?" She asked, even though it was more of a statement than a question. She waited for an affirmative, vibrating in place with tension. A wolf was pacing near her, nervous to go too close. Shion knew it could feel danger. After all, Polonium hadn't taught her dragon KI (Killing Intent) for nothing.

"Cover me?" Shion asked again. She couldn't hold back the pure, absolute bloodlust in her voice, and part of her hoped he didn't realize how absolutely feral she was.

If he did, she might just have to try and put him down.

A voice responded, something disturbing lurking behind it. It was also definitely not Johann. The voice was...creepy, to say the least. Shion did not react other than a slight nod, launching toward the two alphas. She was going to rip their still beating hearts out of their chests, was going to laugh as warm blood splattered on her face. It was not senseless killing, she told herself. I am a good person.

As the wolf lunged towards her, (probably the Beta) Shion chanted these words in her mind. As she crumpled to the ground gracefully to avoid the wolf, as the wolf passed over her, as she raised her hand and stabbed into its upper neck. I am a good person.

Contrary to the laws of cool anime moves, the wolf did not keep moving with the momentum. It just hung there, the bone shard sunk into its heart. Shion grabbed it's jaw, and held it firmly there, her arms shaking with exertion. The other wolf was trying to tear off her leg, it's teeth firmly sunken into her foot. Shion ignored the Alpha and dragged the bone shard all the way to the Beta's stomach, swiftly darting out from under it.

Pain like no other radiated from her foot, a horrible shriek torn from her. The wolf's teeth had dragged across her foot, leaving a deep gouge. Shion could feel the wolf biting bone, so fragile and weak, and she almost couldn't see it's form, blood and exhaustion blurring her vision. She stabbed at it desperately, poison dripping down the bone shard. The ground where the droplets landed died. So did the wolf, when Shion stabbed it.

It finally let go of her foot, it's jaw loosening as it died. She scowled at it's still form, cursing to herself as she tore one animal-pelt pant leg to long strips, wrapping it firmly around her foot. She was going to pass out soon from blood loss and pain, but the least she could do was wrap up her deepest wound.

"Ugh, my bone is going to bruise," she grumbled to herself. "Your battle..."

Shion struggled with the words, finally remembering one from the tavern. The men-always-smelling-of-beer had been playing a game, and one of them had roared cheat! She didn't know how well it applied to this situation, but she had to do something to lighten the situation, so he would at least take her to a hospital. He would leave her lying on the ground if she didn't speak up.

"Cheat," she stuck her tongue out at Johann jokingly, the corners of her lips pulling up just slightly. "Your battle...quick."

She finally settled on that. The tavern hadn't really talked about battle much. Of course, they'd talked about women and 'bosoms' a lot. Apparently they were soft and squishy. She'd told the tavern owner she wanted to have one to sleep on, and he'd glanced at her chest area for some reason. Then he'd told her no.

Shion met his gaze, before tilting her head questioningly. "You have...have monster in you too?"

Curse her limited english. She scowled at herself, before trying to sit up. She sort of succeeded. Shion had dragged herself to one of the nearby trees, back leaning on it for support and legs stretching out in front of her. There was a bloody trail leading to her, and she cursed. There was no way to get rid of the blood stench.

"Useless if another battle," Shion said loudly. Her wounds hurt so goddamn much that it physically hurt to just talk. She allowed herself to feel a hint of pride before squashing it down ruthlessly; if a wolf pack hurt her this much she would have no chance against werewolves. Or maybe they were the werewolves. She wouldn't know; her sense of smell was engulfed with poison right now.

"If those werewolves, job complete?" she asked, relaxing into the tree even more. The bark pressed harshly against her skin, keeping her from slipping into the realm of the unconscious. "You can leave me here. Useless for job, anyway," Shion muttered, waving her hand in the air. "Please take me to heal person. I can pay you the rest of my jewel."

She shifted uncomfortably. "Pass out soon. Then out of your hair, and you can go on without me."

It said a lot that she knew negative phrases like that very well, mostly that the tavern was a place for hunters and bad people. But her job was a job. A good job, and she wasn't going to lose it. The tavern owner said she was 'decent' for food. She had scoffed and taken offense; Polonium had taught her better than just 'decent'.

"Can cook, sun is going down," she added. "I can cook for you, and you can bring me to a heal person?"

Shion grinned to herself when he talked about Mars, satisfied with the fact that they were...sorta the same. Then he was coming closer, telling her to be still, and---

"Hold still, Shion," Polonium rumbled. "This might hurt a little."

Shion froze. Familiar dark gas was pouring from his arm, and he was going to force her to swallow it. She was going to lay there, twitching on the ground because he was going to make her swallow the poison, and it was going to happen. She was going to be in pain for hours, but it was fine. She would not be weak.

She braced herself, then relaxed; the pain wasn't that---oh, nope, there it was. She hissed internally, letting her body relax and try to embrace the pain. She could feel her bones shifting together and her wounds knitting together. Her bones ground against each other awkwardly, the magic seemingly unaccustomed to the human body. It was vicious but also gentle, not sparing her the pain but also healing it.

Shion felt it go over her face, roughly closing her wounds. It was against her scars now. She held her breath, knowing that if it smoothed over her skin she wouldn't be able to do anything. It just moved on. When it was over, she let out a breath.

Then Johann started talking, and she had to admit; he was right. But then again---"Who says I don't have a death wish?" she muttered to herself. Louder, she said, "You're right, sorry. First battle in...too longs to count. Not an excuse, though. Sorry."

Shion flexed her arms, marveling at how good she felt. She killed the tree she was leaning on, the tenacious threads of life it'd held on to snipped. It was easy to push it over, the trunk snapping with a sound like thunder. Shion winced a bit, before grinning. "I know it probably wasn't the werewolves, and they'll probably come at night. Help me set up a barrier, just push over trees in the outline of the clearing. The bushes help as markers,"

When he said he didn't need sustenance, Shion took exactly three seconds to translate that word into food, and nodded a touch doubtfully. "Yeah, but food gives back energy. Gotta be strong when the werewolves come, eh?"

She left the clearing, waving a long-nailed hand and saying "Gonna go get some berries, maybe hunt some rabbits,"

It took her a while to find the berries, which she eventually deemed poisonous after eating it on her own, and saved it for stuffing into the spare meat, and then throwing it to the werewolves. Her process for getting the rabbits were simple; she collapsed their den and then dug them out. She'd been careful not to touch any of them with her poison. (Johann was going to eat, goddammit) Then, she'd dug into her bag and brought out spices.

She started heading back. In her hands were a couple of big stones, perfect to surround a fire. Shion then realized that she had nothing to start the fire with. Well, she hoped he would have some, or they were going to have to strike stones.

Ah, shit.

Shion stared at him for a bit, watching as he snapped his fingers for a fire. "Holy shit," she breathed, accidentally saying it out loud. "Wonder what it's like ta be powerful," she mused quietly to herself. Then her ears started burning, embarrassment flooding through her. Her words were quiet, and she wasn't sure if he'd heard or not.

"Anyway, thanks for the fire. I have a stick," she cleared her throat a little when her voice got rough (some part of her had never forgotten the feeling of being left behind). "You know in hindsight that sentence explains literally nothing and I’m not sure why I offered it as explanation. Uh, it's ta roast the rabbit. I got a lot of em and uh...I don't think I can eat them all. You won't let their deaths go ta waste, will ya?"

I really hope this works, because I can't actually eat all this myself, she thought to herself. I know rabbits mate like crazy, but eight of them is just too much. But if he refused, she'd force all the rabbits down her throats no matter how full she was. Meaningless death was...

Shion sighed, scratching the back of her neck as she skinned the rabbit smoothly. Her little bone dagger cut deep into the flesh of the rabbit when she realized it was bare, and it took a bit before she started moving again. Panic was rushing through her veins (it was her last reminder and it was gone), before she spotted it on the edge of the clearing. It was half under a tree, thankfully unharmed.

Her hand unconsciously started to trace her scar, her face vacant as she tried to remember. Ah, there was no point. Her eyes flickered to the trees again, worry creased on her face.

Now that she thought about it, the tree barrier was actually really good. Although, they were just felled trees. She glanced at the rabbit (which was rapidly becoming less than quality) then at her scarf. Then she glanced toward Johann. Maybe he would...nah, probably not. She sighed to herself, deciding to get the scarf later.

The rabbit was stabbed onto a stick. Shion put her preferred spices on it then put the jars of them on the ground, making a grunting a sound toward Johann. "Some salt and stuff if you actually wanna eat rabbits. Uh, do ya have anythin' ta drink?"

Her question was awkward, the accent she'd picked up from the tavern heavy in her mouth. God, why was she so bad at being social? While she scolded herself, delicious smells permeated the air. Wouldn't be long now, she thought to herself while she ate her second rabbit. The bones of the first were gathered in a pile and buried.

She watched as smoke twirled into the sky, the smell making her wrinkle her nose. Ugh, it reminded her of that time a man had stumbled towards her, breath stinking of cigarettes (he'd gone out of the tavern with a horrible fear of women with blue hair).

"I don't know much about you," she told Johann, ears pricked for the sound of approaching wolves. It wouldn't take them long now. She started making another rabbit, this time stuffing the poisonous berries into them. If she remembered pack rules right, the leader ate first. Of course, it was possible that they didn't have that hierarchy, but it was worth a chance.

"You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable," she added blandly, her expression smoothed out and cool. She knew all too well the feeling of being stuck in a situation she didn't want to be in, forced to talk or...something. The rabbit was done, cooked to perfection. It was the one with the poison, she could smell it. There were wolves nearby too, a soft breeze carrying the musky scent. Of course, it was also mingled with something else; the smell of a person. The faint scent of blood was also carried with them, and her teeth grit (she was careful not to hook on to anything in her mouth).

Shion crooked her finger, mouthing "werewolves" and hoping he could understand her. Then she pointed to the rabbit with the batch of berries.

"Ah, the berries are poisonous, so don't touch em." she said, hand still pointing to the rabbit, trying to keep her voice level. It was shaking though, just barely, and she could feel poison seeping from her. Bloodlust emanated from her---

There was an ominous creaking sound, and Shion whipped her head toward the trees. Her neck was cold. She wanted her scarf.

There was poison dripping down her hands, the grass where it landed dying on contact. But she was probably getting too eager. She needed to calm down. The ground where she sat was dead. Nothing was going to grow there for years. Holding back a sigh, Shion scooched closer to Johann.

"Throw the rabbit to the wolves," she murmured. Her hands were coated with poison, a toxic smell rising from them. He was probably only sitting next to her to be polite.

A flower withered and died.

"Berries in the rabbit. My hands are..." she trailed off, holding up her hands for unneeded proof. Anyone could smell the death emanating from her in waves. "Ah, right. Please. That is how you say it, right?"

Human traditions were weird. Dragon ones made much more sense; power meant the lesser ones obeyed. None of this "please" and "thank you" business.

Maybe he could get her scarf, too, if he was willing. "Can ya get me mah scarf too? I'm...not me without that damn thing..."

Her accent thickened when she was nervous, taking on a rough edge. Her words were usually blurred by the mountain tavern's...she wasn't sure what to call it. Slang? Accent? She tried to sound regal, elegant, but she was embarrassing herself in front of the grey haired man. Maybe he would feel pity for her.

"Sorry if my talking is odd," she sounded out the words clearly and carefully, trying to go slow but not too slow or he would think her stupid. "I'm not from here. Will you do what I ask if I say 'please'? Because...please. I can't go myself, because..."

There was a puddle of poison on the ground around her, grass turning brown under her hands. It was the most potent poison she knew of, and for some reason, she always came back to it when she was nervous. Shion waved a hand covered in the gold-bronze colored liquid, trying to grin sheepishly but most likely coming off as hostile.

"Please," she added once more. Her hand made an aborted move toward her neck.

It was cold without the scarf.

Shion quickly grabbed the scarf, wrapping it around her neck and sighing in relief as her anxious poison stopped (the scarf contained her powers; without it, everything around her would die). She cleared her throat and muttered a weak "Thanks", relief clear in her voice.

"It's..it means a lot ta me that you actually got it. Uh, it wasn't all sentimental reasons o' course! Uh, it helps me control my poison from gettin' outta control, and, uh...wolf packs, let's talk about that? Yeah, uh,"

Her eyes lowered slightly as she started to talk about what she'd found out about wolf packs---it felt wrong, somehow, to betray their secrets like this, but kill or be killed, right?

"In wolf packs, tha leader always eats first," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear her. "And the poison is spread pretty through--thourouh--thoroughly, through the rabbit. It's a delayed sorta poison too, 'nd  at least two wolves should die. They're prolly gonna be tha pack leaders, and that's...that's good, I think, uh---"

Howling cut through her sentence, more and more wolves joining in. So, at least the pack leader had died, which was pretty nice. Shion lifted her nose to the air, eyes narrowing as she realized she could smell death on at least three wolves.

She frowned. Why had that many fallen for her trick? That wasn't normal, she didn't think, they couldn't be that stupid. Her brows furrowed, confusion flickering through her veins. Something had happened, she knew. Maybe one of them had attacked the other---

Oh, she realized, something tight in her chest. They suspected each other, they thought their pack mates were the culprits. Of course, they thought one of them had assassinated the leader, and something snapped in her chest at the realization that one of them killed a packmate.

Shion relayed as much, adding, "That's like killing your sibling or father, depending on where they stood in the pack. You just..."

Her voice trailed off, muttering "他们是你的哥哥姐姐和弟弟妹妹..."

A low whine rose in her throat, her mind even refusing the very idea that they killed each other. But they weren't wolves, they were were wolves, and they cared very little about each other, probably. She sighed, tiredness seeping through her veins. "Three've died," she finally mustered up the energy to say. "I still smell two werewolves, which is pretty small. They aren't very good at recruiting people, are they? Don't answer that."

Shion raised a steady (shaking) hand to her scarf, shook. She'd known they weren't exactly wolves, didn't have the honor and loyalty, but this was...unexpected. They could've rushed into the camp and done something unexpected, and she could've broken down, and---

"We should probably ambush them now," Shion whispered to Johann. "They're confused and angry, so they're weak right now, you come from one side and I come from the other?"

Shion pressed her lips together, foot tapping quickly against the ground. She still had four more rabbits left, but they wouldn't fall for the same trick again. Unless, of course, there was another good rabbit tossed toward them. They would immediately be suspicious, but they would still probably eat (either with the weakest of the pack as a test taster or with the leader being arrogant and eating first) since most of the pack was starving. She let out a breath, and muttered "Toss 'em a good rabbit, they'll think the next one is good too, probably. We have two choices, either ambush them or try ta kill the rest of em off with rabbits, though that'll take longer and we'll probably be sitting here, talking and eating. Even then, it's not a guarantee. For the rabbits, I mean, the ambush is probably a guarantee, I, uh...'m rantin', sorry. i'll just...what should we do?"

Shion looked at Johann, a sliver of frustration in her eyes. She wouldn't be able to make the right choice, childish and short-tempered as she was. Johann was way more mature, and he would probably make the best choice (the battle from before was evidence of that).

Shion repeated in a smaller, more subdued voice: "What should we do?"

Shion sprinted into action the second the words "ambush" fell from the man's mouth, leaping at one of the werewolves. She wanted it to suffer. It'd made so many people die ( --- could've lived for decades more, with happy families and smiles and the sun shining on their backs --- ), made so many people rot and decay and she could smell rot clear as day, even though the bodies had been too fresh for the smell ( --- Polonium had left the human bodies to rot at the mouth of their cave, a snarl trapping itself in his throat --- ), the feel of dried blood flaking off of her skin and drifting along into the wind.

Distantly, she noted the twitching, not quite dead bodies of two of the werewolves, dark puddles of blood beneath them. Distantly, she noted that two were completely dead, one of poisoning and the other from being attacked. The metallic tang of blood had hit her nose, as had the stench of death. One was still alive, though twitching, Shion cursed to herself as she stomped on it's throat, noting how the berries hadn't worked well on one of the three fallen. It seemed like prolonged exposure to this forest changed you, and a chill worked it's way down her spine.

The werewolf she was in front of her leapt at her, arrogance and a certain surety of victory radiating off of it---

Shion stabbed her bone shard through it's chest, her scarf slowly dripping poison in her hand, where she'd ripped it off of her neck. Unrestrained, the very air around her became toxic; to take even a whiff was death, unless you were a mage or a particularly tenacious werewolf. Face impassive, she watched as it stopped struggling to get closer, it's body starting to go limp. She ripped her arm out of the space between it's second and fourth rib, it's third one having been broken with the force of her punch.

It's back was against the tree behind it, slumped over, eyes half lidded. It's arms were hanging limply at its sides, fingers twitching with the urge to murder. The glare it gave her made her giggle a little, the sound high and girly; the exact opposite of everything she was.

She crouched down, staring it straight in the eyes, scarf looped tightly around her neck once again. "Oops," she deadpanned at it. "I think I've made you start dying faster. That's not good. Johann, I'm gonna be takin' a while. Ya think you can wait for a bit while I torture it? Just ta extract info, o' course. Not sayin' I won't enjoy it, though."

Shion grinned, teeth sharp, still craving the metallic taste of blood. The werewolf twitched, the scent of fear wafting off of it in waves. Her fingers twitched; time to get bloodier.

A few minutes later, there was a disappointed "tsk". The creature on the ground could hardly be called a creature now; it was more like a lump of flesh. I really did a number on this thing. The thought had barely drifted through her mind, bogged down with guilt, before it was crushed. It deserved the torture, it deserved all that had happened to it. She was not a bad person. But you are, the voice in her head whispered.

--- blood, fingers delicately picking out pieces of flesh and putting them beside her, howls of pain, the smell of stomach acid, the taste of disgust on her tongue, the feel of slippery, slippery organs between her thumb and pointer finger ---

She put them in a box in the pack of her mind for later, wrapping heavy chains around it as the box rumbled ominously in her mind.

Shion got up, half of her covered in gore and blood, the other half perfectly clean except for some old, dried blood, dust, and a few rips in the fabric of her very abused hoodie. Her magic energy level was low, although the rabbits had helped. The unrestrained magic energy hadn't, though. Her lips thinned. She still couldn't fully control her power, and that was dangerous, apparently ( --- choked screams, wide eyes, mouths filled with purple foam --- ).

Shion turned toward Johann, her voice strained and with an undercurrent of I'm going to go cry in a corner now. "There was no reason for attacking the village, apparently. They were just...bored."

Her voice dripped with disgust at the word. They'd slaughtered so many people for no reason except to sate their bloodlust. To get off. Her hands shook slightly, from fatigue, the fact that that she'd just tortured a man, and disgust for the now pile-of-meat werewolf.

Her feet lead her toward the tree barrier where she collapsed. Shion slowly loosened the chains around the box, the things she'd been blocked out since the beginning of this mission rushing back in. She could imagine how proud Polonium would be, could remember the horrid scene of a burned---no, completely demolished village in her mind's eye, could remember how much the scene had been overlaid with her own memories of destroyed villages, could remember hands, kness, and feet stinging with pain as she climbed a mountain to a cave, poison and the scent of home hanging in the air; Shion realized she was trying to force a scream through her mouth, trying to scream and she couldn't, trying to throw up but she couldn't because she'd just killed and tortured and they had been people, had probably had lives before she killed them, and it didn't matter that they'd killed too because they hadn't slowly dissected each and every of the dead people in a misguided, gleeful attempt at torture and interrogation.

Gasps forced their way out of her mouth as her body craved for air, the sharp sting of pain and the blood now dripping it's way down her unbloodied arm making her sit on her legs, forehead on the ground. She shuddered, feeling the cold numbness of dissociation. "Help me, I'm drowing, help me, I'm a good person, I'm good I'm good, good good good good good ---"

Her voice came out harsh and breathless, loud enough to be heard echoing through the trees. I just tortured a man, Polonium, what the fuck do you think of that, huh?

"I'm a good person," she gasped out again, eyes watery but not letting tears escape. She wanted to cry, needed to cry so bad, and she pleaded, whispered, prayed, to whatever god that was up there to forgive her of her sins.

"I'm a good person..."