There was always something to do in the camp, and after the brief conversation with Yeni, Kiko found herself helping the cooks. Dinner was had and stories told of the wolves found frozen. Everyone looked to Ele - apparently her Yin wasn’t such a secret like Kiko thought - but it went as well as it did the last time and so there was just wild speculation.
Way too far from the Northern Mountains for it to be a wandering Yuki-Onna or Yeti, and anyone who had control of their Yin to that extent would not simply pass by in the night. With power came pride and a desire for fame after all. The self-control to keep that kind of power to one’s self was almost unheard of. A proper conclusion to the discussion was also unheard of, and Kiko went to bed with a good night’s interaction but no real thoughts beyond theory.
Ele was dragged into the bed this time, mostly because Kiko was feeling overheated and Ele was always a cool woman. The night was spent in comfort, warming and cooling each other in equal measure. The following day was nothing to crow about either, just magic lessons that Kiko managed to keep her head in and stick around for a whole four hours. But, she could only stuff her head full of so much stuff, and so was eventually done and went out to get some air.
It was out here in the twilight that she heard someone prowling about. Sneaking around the tents to see who it was, she caught a glimpse of Yeni walking into the town with purpose. At first, Kiko didn’t think anything of it, communication with the locals was part of her duties. But the sword and covert outfit that she was wearing didn’t seem to be very diplomacy friendly. Waving down Ele to come over, she’d explain what she had seen, and then the plan to follow.
“Stalk your mother into a new town with no weapons if it turns out to be a fight, huh? I love it” Ele exclaimed, giggling softly.
“What, you not got tails?” Kiko replied. The smile but awkward look in Ele’s eyes was definitely a surprise. Maybe she was embarrassed she forgot about her Fox Fire?
Either way, Kiko and Ele set off. The woman was clearly focused on where she was going and what she was doing, because she didn’t notice the two stalkers. They passed into the outskirts of the town, through some old industrial sector filled with rusting cars and defunct warehouses, and into one particularly dilapidated one.
“This has gone from weird to fuckin’ mysterious” Ele whispered, giving it some twenty seconds so Yeni wasn’t immediately by the door, and then scurrying over and slowly cracking the door open. The inside was as one expected, a mostly open expanse with a few discarded crates and boxes. One very conspicuous open trapdoor though, complete with what was a moth-eaten rug covering it.
“She definitely knows where she is doing, huh?” Kiko asked nervously. She had hoped to catch her mother doing something like meeting a hot Kitsune boyfriend or getting some cigarettes or something. This…was beyond Kiko’s desire to really follow. Was definitely not beyond Ele’s though, who went straight for the trap door and peered down.
“It’s about twenty foot down, though not into any sewers. Come on” Ele offered, gesturing with her head and taking the first step.
“You don’t think this is dangerous? Beyond just a quick jaunt into town or some clandestine cigarette merchant, this could be serious! Like, Cultists summoning Beasts, serious” Kiko retorted with a hiss, though followed anyway. Ele wasn’t to be deterred and Kiko was not leaving her here alone.
“That’s a reason to leave?” Ele replied, an eyebrow raised as she descended.
“Yeni’s a Maiden. She knows what she is doing, we could ruin everything by getting in the way” Kiko put in.
Getting down to the bottom, it was dark but whispered an incantation and filled her eyes and Ele’s with light, giving them effective nightvision. Magic was fucking handy at times.
“Neat trick” Ele whispered, gesturing for Kiko to follow. The two snuck through the darkness, hearts pounding and ears pricked. It was a good five minutes of careful wandering before they found another door. Heavy, but unlocked. Gingerly trying the handle, she pushed it open and was met with a brightly lit room and four men. Two had axes, one had a pair of brass knuckles, and the man at the front had an ornate sword.
“I was worried when they said a Kitsune had infiltrated this place. But you are just a pair of children. I feel somewhat back about this” he commented, laughing softly.
“Sorry to disappoint, but you might find we are-Fulgar” Kiko would start to retort and then blast him in the chest with a bolt of lightning. Muscular spasm launched him backwards across the room and into the back wall. “Ow, ow, fuck. I need to practice projection” she muttered.
While dealing with her hand that was a bit burned and a bit twitching from the poor magic, Ele covered her ass from the two spooked men who had rushed in after the boss got blasted. Leaping up over the first man, Ele planted a foot on the roof, spun, and smashed her heel into the head of the second. Guy dropped like a sack of shit, and left Kiko to lean backwards and snap a kick upwards as the other guy swung his axe downwards. The foot connected solidly and crunched his arm the wrong way. Ele punched him in the ear while he was screaming in pain, and that was two down.
The knuckles man did the smart thing and just fuckin’ bailed, leaving the two girls to gloat in success. At least, until the man in front of them got up.
“My fault. Shouldn’t have underestimated you” he exclaimed, brushing off the remains of his burned shirt. Giving the two a coy grin and stopping well out of range, he put a hand on his sword. “Sword’s Symphony, First Verse” the incantation hung thick with power in the air, and Kiko barely managed to push Ele out of the way before her chest opened from a radical slice, from hip to shoulder.
It burned. Nothing like what she expected a cut like this to feel, it was like he had set her chest on fire. Collapsing from the pain, she felt the room spin, lurch, and scream. Though, the third part was just Ele. Kiko tried to keep her head together, tried to stay conscious, tried to focus her Mana to heal the wound. It was a great effort, and she just about managed to drag herself into a seated position in time to watch some electric-nimbus cloaked woman go absolutely psycho on the swordsman. Screams of pain and ‘Fuckin’ Raiju!’ and some tongue Kiko had never heard filled the air.
A bolt of stray lightning shot out and melted the wall two foot above her, the heat radiating off the impact zone and not helping her concentration at all. A hand strayed towards her necklace to take it off, but that hand was stopped by another.
“More trouble than it’s worth, darling” the voice said. Looking up at it, the very iconic form of Queenie was there, dressed in full SIR battlegear. Shocked at the woman being here, so far from the HQ, Kiko let her hand slump to the side. Ele had been lost in all this chaos, and Kiko…needed to find her. Needed to stop the bleeding, needed to clear her wound.
Needed…..
Needed………
Needed………………..
