Dreadful Aftermath [Open Social]

It was not a pleasant afternoon for Renji as he approached the welcoming arms of Ace of Spades. Some of the locals mumbled to themselves, and what little Renji could hear was something about the dried blood that had gotten on the bottom of his shirt and around his neck. At this time he didn’t have his coat to cover it up, and that was because the coat was held in his right bloodied hand. It was visibly torn open by something with claws, and said claws were sharp enough to have torn through the leather. Perhaps it wasn’t the first time to find one of the Sabertooth mages coming back from a job with blood on them, but it still irked people especially how distant and quiet Renji was.

Thankfully there didn’t seem to be any injuries on the teen, but perhaps the most concerning part about his current state was the left side of his neck was dark with dried blood. Almost like some wild animal decided to take a bite at him. One of the locals, an arrogant man with short blonde hair smirked.

”Seems like one of their mages tangled with the wrong beast. He looks like shit.” The brunette guy that stood next to the blonde smacked the back of his hand against the blonde’s chest with a frown on his face.

”Dude, you go taking on a monster by yourself and not get cut up. I’m surprised he’s still walking.” Normally that would bring a sense of pride or bolster Renji’s confidence, but he was so emotionally drained he couldn’t even muster the drive to acknowledge it. Instead Renji only glanced at their direction as he kept walking past them. Eventually Renji came upon the Red Dragon Inn, one of the main hubs for Sabertooth in the Ace of Spades. Or so he had heard at any rate. Renji’s feet ached from his shin all the way into the arch of his feet. Yet he continued to approach the building all the same at a leisure pace. Renji felt so exhausted that it felt like gravity had increased in trying to weigh him down.

WC: 359

The day had progressed as it usually would. Kenna, still somewhat ridden to the locality of Ace of Spades and Yggdrasil itself after her return, had filled her days running through the paperwork she'd left in her aces' care for over half a year. Her lingering wounds still healed slower than ever, with the aftermath leaving her somewhat crippled still. It forced her to forgo going on jobs or missions like she used to do in favor of healing, much to her dismay. She hated sitting still, and even more to show the weakness she'd attained. Even now, going through the last of the Red Dragon Inn's financial reports of last month she'd been suppressing the urge to toss the papers and bolt.

Although many had ushered her into digitalizing, the demoness refused on many occasions. Half of it because she wasn't all that well-versed in the sudden burst in lacrima-powered technology being developed over the past few years. Honestly, she could care less. But there was something nostalgic about holding these papers within her hands. Allowing her to destroy without leaving evidence, whereas it being digitalized left little choice on that. There would always be a back-up. Call it a blessing and a curse.

With a sigh, the white-haired demoness pushed her chair back. Fresh air. She'd finish the rest later. Just as quickly as her change of mind, Kenna collected and ordered the parchments, stuffing them into a map which she stored away from prying eyes in her storage dimension."Going out again, Guild Mistress?" One of the waiters asked her as she passed, to which she nodded gently. "Only for a few, stretching my legs a bit with a stroll around the block. Get myself some fresh air while we're at it. I'll be back soon." She smiled, almost immediately heading for the door, however fast her dragging leg could take her. But the very moment she opened the door, Kenna's smile faltered, and she stumbled out the door towards the bloodied figure closing in on the Inn.

"Renji! What happened?" The demoness questioned, instinctively wrapping an arm around the man's shoulders to support him, even though she was the one struggling. With a concerned face she scanned the man top to bottom, trying to look for wounds, which her touch would help with if he had allowed her to wrap her arm around his shoulder. If he had, even as a cripple, Kenna boasted enough strength to effortlessly carry him further inside, kicking back a chair for the man to sit on. "Renji, speak to me... this blood? What happened to you? Are you hurt anywhere?" Kenna asked him with concern in her eyes, her voice soft and worried as she gestured for someone to fetch her water and cloth.


Wc: 463 of ???

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was exhausted, Renji often doesn’t like to be touched by anyone. It was nothing against anyone in particular, he just felt uncomfortable about it. However on that occasion Renji lacked the energy to speak before a familiar face wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He technically wasn’t wounded as he had healed those when Renji sustained them. Renji might not have been a gifted healer like some other mages were, but he could still heal himself. If anything Renji was simply exhausted as he spent a lot of energy fighting overnight.

”I uh… went to go help a friend.” Renji answered before he was led by Kenna over to the inside of Red Dragon Inn. His arrival at the establishment brought an alarm to both patrons and staff. As he sat down on a chair, Renji let out a sigh of relief as what little energy he had left almost made him pass out on the chair. However Kenna’s voice allowed him to focus on their surroundings as his amber eyes met Kenna’s.

Renji winced as his sides throbbed from pushing his body through its limits. Even so the teen reached his non-bloodied left hand into his torn red coat to retrieve what’s left of a letter and handed it over to Kenna. Some specks of blood could be seen splattered on the bottom left corner with a notable tear close to the center. The letter held some terrible memories that were still fresh, and unfortunately Renji didn’t think he could ever move past it.

Letter:

” A friend of mine, who was like family to me… she sent a letter to me and was requesting help.” Renji began to answer, and if Kenna took the letter then the young mage would tenderly touch the left side of his neck where dried blood could be seen. It wasn’t that it hurt, but Renji still remembered the teeth that tore into his neck. His usual fluffy raven hair was a mess like he had been tumbling around a lot. Renji attempted to correct it during his trip home, but he’s used to a brush combing through it and not his fingers.

”I went to the Cursed Lands with the coordinates as my destination. On my way there, I came across these… people? They looked human at least, but it was like I was dealing with feral beasts. One of them even had their windpipe missing yet was more eager to rip my neck open than its own safety.” Renji honestly had no idea what they were, but he still answered to the best of his ability. He took a moment to take a deep breath as his amber eyes closed to allow his turmoil soul to calm even if it was slight.

” A friend of mine, who was like family to me… she sent a letter to me and was requesting help.” Renji began to answer, and if Kenna took the letter then the young mage would tenderly touch the left side of his neck where dried blood could be seen. It wasn’t that it hurt, but Renji still remembered the teeth that tore into his neck. His usual fluffy raven hair was a mess like he had been tumbling around a lot. Renji attempted to correct it during his trip home, but he’s used to a brush combing through it and not his fingers.

”I went to the Cursed Lands with the coordinates as my destination. On my way there, I came across these… people? They looked human at least, but it was like I was dealing with feral beasts. One of them even had their windpipe missing yet was more eager to rip my neck open than its own safety.” Renji honestly had no idea what they were, but he still answered to the best of his ability. He took a moment to take a deep breath as his amber eyes closed to allow his turmoil soul to calm even if it was slight. Although he didn't say as to whose blood on his hands belonged to, not yet at any rate.

WC: 486 | Renji: 845