#kyoudo komainu

[komainu-no-hana]

RPers, pls! ;_;

[wicked-virtue]

Tainted Lessons

(Again the standard warning behind the cut lies things and stuff, read at your own risk disturbing content ahead)

The sound of water trickling greeted L’ania’s ears and her eyes fluttered open. She knew this place. This was where she had gone to be alone and away from her tribe. She listened to the birds in the trees and the water in the stream and exhaled a breath. She couldn’t quite remember what she had been doing before this, but a voice made her tense and her breath catch. She spun around to see an all too familiar face, one that didn’t belong in this setting.  The expression set on her features made it clear that she thought she had been killed and this was some sort afterlife. Perhaps it was the gates of Thal's judgement.

The Elezen stalked towards her slowly. "Now, now, pup... How did you wind up here, hmm?" He clicked his tongue at her. "Tsk, tsk..." He was not immediately threatening to her but rather gave off the impression of watchfulness. "Did we forget our lessons?"

Her brow furrowed and she tried to think back on what had happened. It was hazy at best, but then her eyes widened and she shook her head, "No, I didn't forget... I just wasn't strong enough. I shot her though, before her pet wolf injected me with poison." It was one of the last things she remembered. She remembered snapping and biting into Fuyumi with her words, she remembered the moment she lost her temper and had been intent on killing the woman. The shriek she had given when the bullet hit, but not well enough. The swift movements of Noboru, who she had never been a match for. She had fought him as hard as she could, but he had been a much more skilled fighter than her. "No, I haven't forgotten any of our lessons.”

Aiden moved towards her and came close enough that he could reach out and run a hand down her cheek. "Where did you aim when you shot her pup? Her heart? Her head? Her.... throat? Where did my pup aim her fangs?" His eyes bore into her as though reading her past, her thoughts. "Did you mean to kill her?"

The touch had been entirely unexpected, and the fact that she could even feel it left her more confused. Was she a ghost? Was she only so much aether and her mind was transferring sensation. It made her both draw nearer for the briefest of moments just to know touch at all, then jerk back with a hiss, "Her heart... and yes... I meant to kill her. I wanted her dead. I knew she was going to have me killed, but if she died at least it wouldn't have been in vain. I just missed. Shot her in the rear instead of in the heart. They had used some sort of poison on me and it made my head spin."

His voice had shifted to the honeyed tones he'd used when she'd done as he liked, or when he was finished with her the first time they'd met. "Do you want her dead now? If you had the chance... if you had the strength... would you hunt them down? Would you tear out their throats?"

There was a pause, and a hesitation at his questions. He had always known when she was lying. She had never been a good liar in the first place, but he had been able to read her like an open book. She stood from the spot and paced alone the edge of the stream a moment. It had dual purpose, both to get out of his reach and to think. She finally answered in the only way she could, honestly, "I don't know. Part of me says yes. Part of me felt good at the way she screamed when she was struck, but just as much of me is glad that I didn't kill her." She looked back at him with brows furrowed, "Part of me still wants to go back and rip her throat out. Tear her to pieces and leave her as broken as she left the people I care for. I just don't know if I could do it."

Crimson boots crushed gravel beneath them as he walked around her, semi-circling her, his eyes never leaving their mark. "That is the lamb speaking. She should be cast aside... Even the bitch knows to rip out the throat of a threat to her pack... Is this woman a threat... is her hound a threat? If a snake is suffered to live... It returns and and strikes from the shadows. A cowardly creature... Can you afford to let the snake escape... to thrive again... to grower stronger? If you had the strength to slay the hound and cut the head from the snake... And you chose to let them live. How much fault is yours for the venom and carnage that follow?" He seemed to be testing her. Making her think. As always, another lesson.

She watched him circle her like so much prey, like a lamb he meant to hunt all over again and she couldn't ignore his words. He was right, even Kyoudo had said that Fuyumi needed to die. She just wasn't sure if -she- could really do it. Was it just the lamb speaking. Hadn't she told Aeric she had thorns. She gave an angry hiss at him, "It doesn't matter anyways! I'm already here. I wasn't strong enough. He just toyed with me, made me think I could do anything against him..." Her jaw clenched, "All I had were words and a missed shot. The words struck true at least..."

Again he tsked at her. "Then if this is it... if you failed... Why am I still trying to teach you pup?" He knew she would at least think on those words. "It's not that you failed, it's that you have a second chance. The only question now... do you take it, or not?" He liked his lips, a sneering grin spreading across his features. "I showed you what it was to have teeth... but I can offer you more. Fangs and claws, the strength to use them. Didn't you ever wonder why I had so much strength? Why my fangs sank so much deeper? Blood for blood, pup... Take mine, offered freely... and take theirs by force!"

The pounding of her heart in her chest echoed in her ears as rose hues took in her surroundings. Where was she if not dead? His words sank into her, echoing through her. She could be stronger, she could protect Kyoudo and Hana and Aeric and Gideon. She could take out the threat to the people she cared for. It wasn't until the last words sank in that she shook her head, "No.. You were sick... it changed you. You're talking about taking power from other people.. like you did with me, but what happens when there are no willing donors? I won't be like that.. I won't hurt innocent people for power... No matter how tempting it is to take that option now, it doesn't change that I would be just as bad, if not worse than her after."

Maroon eyes narrowed as he heard her speak. "Power is power pup..." His voice began to darken as it had many times before. Anger twisted his face. "You choose who to take it from, the wicked, the sheep, the snakes or vermin... Do not cower from power... It is only from lacking it that you've failed to protect your pack..."

Rose hues held a hint of fear at his displeasure. It usually ended poorly for her, but he had made a wolf, if only a pup. That fear turned into anger instead of making her cower, "You were miserable that way. You could pretend all you wanted, but I know you weren't always that way. I was the one that went through your things. That set you to rest. Would this power give me an end like yours? I don't want that. I can find other ways. I never stopped wanting better for you, you deserved it. You deserved to be loved and cared for. I'm not cowering from power... I just don't want that kind. I will not poison myself when there are other ways."

The twisted anger deepened into a hate filled sneer. "You pity me!? You sniveling weakling! You dare pity me?" Smoke-colored aether began to waft off of him as he began to stalk towards her. "Obviously you need to be reminded... You did not take the lessons to heart. ANYTHING TO SURVIVE!" He screamed at her and the aether shot forth like tendrils aiming to capture her wrists.

Aiden had never raged at her in that way, had never dripped hatred from his lips and it made her jerk back a step in shock and genuine fear. She tried to run, to escape from it, but the slick rocks along the bank of the stream sent her tumbling down. She scrambled backwards, but the tendrils grabbed hold of her and she knew this was where the nightmare really began and he made her bleed for angering him.

[komainu-no-hana]

[komainu-no-hana]

L'ania Hena followed his gaze towards the large tree and nodded with a small smile at the idea of the tree standing guard over the village. She held the knife so that the handle was offered to him if he chose to take it, and if not she could tuck it back away. "Fifty three...." She repeated the number quietly. "Is there a certain type of flower that I should choose? Something special maybe?" She knew her own tribe had certain plants and animals that were special to it, so perhaps his village had something similar. Rose hues scanned the area for where she could find flowers, and she spotted an area with plenty of plant-life that looked promising. Kyoudo Komainu 's chest filled with a deep, fresh breath as he looked around, his gaze falling upon the same area hers had.  "When we wished to.. speak with our.. Lady of the Mountain, we would.. leave to her those.. flowers there."  Among the flora were stark white petals.  They speckled the green and other hues like specks of snow.  "They are said to.. grow where she.. has walked."  He quieted then, looking to where the flowers grew.  Patches of them grew along here and there, sweeping along the wall  guarding the village.  "They're called..."  His brows pinched.  <"Tulipa edulis."> L'ania Hena followed his gaze to the bits of white peeking out from the greenery. She repeated their name and gave him a small smile, "That is an excellent idea. I'll go get them." He had yet to take the knife from her, so she tucked it away to its sheath. He could always ask for it later. With one last squeeze of his hand she pulled away and started for the patch of green and white. It helped her to be doing something, and so she followed along the path keeping her eyes to the flowers. She wanted to give him time alone as she knew he needed it. Even if he didn't know it, as a healer she knew there were places she couldn't go with him. She imagined his own home was there somewhere, and his family's home. He had ghosts to put to rest and speak with.

{ @wicked-virtue // l’ania }

[komainu-no-hana]

So break yourself against my stones And spit your pity in my soul

[komainu-no-hana]

Like an unsung melody The truth is waiting there for you to find it It's not a blight, but a remedy A clear reminder of how it began

[komainu-no-hana]

bury all your secrets in my skin come away with innocence and leave me with my sins the air around me still feels like a cage

[komainu-no-hana]

[komainu-no-hana]

ヽ( ´O｀): What is their body language like when sleepy?

Hana:  Hana tends to close herself.  She’ll hold at herself more and keep her chin more drawn toward her chest.

Kyoudo:  He almost pouts, if there are others around.  Though it’s not much different than usual, he’ll cross his arms, be less inclined to make eye contact, and seem stand-offish. 

Luhna:  Luhna becomes stretchy!  And will lean against most anything she can find without care of what it is.  She relaxes and seems more at ease.

Edric:  Edric relaxes as well, and will tend to slouch more often.  The bigger the slouch, the more tired the man.

[komainu-no-hana]

When RNGesus says fuck you to your attempts at being a badass villain.

[komainu-no-hana]

[komainu-no-hana]

White Mage: Does your character see themselves as a good person?

Hana:  Yes and no.  She’s done some horrible things for the sake of good; at least, good in her eyes.  But that doesn’t justify what she’s done, and what she would yet be willing to do no matter how it rests on her conscience.  She struggles to see herself as a truly good person, with a good heart, but she is coming along, and growing, and maybe some day she’ll believe in the good in herself as strongly as she believes in the good of others.

Kyoudo:  Same as his sister, yes and no.  Though he strongly leans toward no.  His is an even bigger struggle.  He has no problem with what he does for the sake of what he finds good.  It doesn’t rest on his shoulders, it doesn’t keep him awake; the fact that it doesn’t bother him plays more on his mind than the actual things he’s done and is willing to do.  But he’s trying to believe in himself, and make better of himself.  It’s a tougher fight, but L’ania has given him much strength and hope.  It is part for her that he’s trying, and part for himself.

Luhna:  … Yes and no, again!  Luhna would never, ever do anything to innocent people.  She’d be snarky, rude even, but harm a person?  No.  She’d sooner take a hit for someone, and throw out some hits, than be the one hitting someone that doesn’t deserve it.  Things in her past get in the way of her seeing herself as a good person, at points, but she no longer sees herself as the monster she could have been. 

Edric:  Edric thinks he’s an okay guy.  He has no problem with things he’s done, and undoubtedly things he’ll do, but he knows he’s no monster.  He’s relatively at peace with himself in this regard.

[komainu-no-hana]

First and last screenshots of 2017!

1 / 1 / 2017 - The most Luhna pose if ever there was one.

12 / 31 / 2017 - The day we realized Kyoudo will love L’ania no matter what, even if it means he’s sexually confused by her Moogle outfit.

tagged by: @kailani-ffxiv and @missmeioh

tagging: @wicked-virtue | @peacekeeper-xiv | @yutikyis | @knife-in-the-shadows | @santhoril | @jewelledflower-ffxiv | @tidusyumemiru

[komainu-no-hana]

[komainu-no-hana]

I can't hold the beast that crawls through my veins Sacrificing my own eyes No confessions left to purify me Something's watching from the skies

[komainu-no-hana]

Word Association!

ROUGH: Life HIDE: Weak FOOLISH: Growing SAD: Afraid HATE: Garlean LIGHT:  L’ania DARK: Shadows MOTHER: Smile FATHER: Honor CHILD: Lost MARRIAGE: Bonded LOVE:  L’ania SOFT: Lips PET: Rat DREAM: Hope DIVORCE: Anger WATER: Mother LOUD: Yell ANNOUNCEMENT: Listen POWER: Self FIGHT: Win SMACK: Everyone WHITE: Snow SICK: Tea KISS: Love HUG: Shelter HURT: Comfort HAPPY: L’ania & Hana