Walks, Talks, and Things [P,IO]

Without a thought in his mind he would begin to channel a silver flame over his hand causing the flames to create a wall in front of Angerona and himself," This..could have been different..but i guess fate decides what will be and what will fade," thinking nothing of this he would turn around and dash forward, not only passing Lexia but picking her up and carrying her under his arm," Do not worry...i will not make the same mistake twice...if you trust me then simply come with me," without hesitating he would begin to make his way to the mountains where he would promptly land in front of hjus home.

He had a feeling that she would follow them due to the silver flames being nothing but a deterent, but as he landed he would walk into the cave and light the torches above sitting down Lexia," sorry...for getting you caught up in this. You will be safe here until the morning then i shall escort you home," with that he would open the door to the large house and allow her to walk in first while keeping a vigil eye out for Angerona. After closing the door he would sigh and walk into the house so that he could forumlate a plan to keep the girl alive.

Angerona would chuckle softly as Yaju fled with Lexia in tow, the wall only causing her to simply stop chasing them as she shook her head and spoke to both herself and Aufero: "Soon, he will have no resolve to flee . . . Soon he will return to us, Goddess, and we can allow him to be with us for eternity . . . But that time is not now, is it? Now, I can already feel the moon fading away as the harsh Sun replaces it, we must return to the Shadows in order to be safe from it's Light, and the unwanted eyes of others." With that, she would begin to lurk back into the shadows of the night, leaping atop a nearby building and then from there she would make her leave from the Village, not wishing to take her chances with fighting Yaju head-on when day was so fast approaching and she was still recovering from their previous encounter. 

As she leisurely left the Village, she would begin to sing to herself the familiar lullaby which she had sung during their first fight within the caves where Yaju's home was located nearby, the tune being distorted slightly by the Darkness around her which covered Angerona much like it would in her Dark Rose Stance, only without the boost in speed that such offered, as this was merely it showing her it's affection, by protecting her from even moonlight - which she minded not as much as Sunlight, but it could still prove to be a nuisance at times - as she moved through the Black Forest, where she currently set up camp for the night, before she would return to her traveling from the land of Lightning to anywhere where she might find suitable souls for Salvation, for her Goddess. 

Arriving at her camp, which consisted of a single tent made of leaves and branches as well as a small camp-fire which was not currently lit, Angerona would sit near the empty fire and close her eyes, allowing herself to fade into the world of her Goddess, of the blade known as Aufero. She would remain within her Goddess's world for the rest of the night, if undisturbed, and allowed herself to relax once more as she let the worries of the world flow from her mind and be replaced simply by the love of her Goddess.

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[Exit]
[5 Stats]

Lexia would take a few moments to catch her breath as they entered Yaju's home, looking around slowly as she did so before muttering softly: "I think she's gone . . . " as she dropped to her knees, panting a few times before standing up.  "What does she mean by purge, Yaju? What is Aufero? What is going on here?!" She would demand, more worried than angry about all of this. It was a rather lot to take in, all at once, for her to be inducted into this sort of strange ritual of Darkness and Light when she could not even control her own Chakra properly was sudden and frightening, even to one of the oldest girls in the academy, being fifteen years old. 

She would await a response to her first series of questions before stepping further into the home, not wanting to take any risks by staying near the door, as she shivered - as if feeling a sense of deja vu -  "Hey . . . " She would begin, turning to look at Yaju with a concerned frown. "This place - Feels familiar . . . It feels like . . . Sadness." She would utter, softly, turning her gaze downward as her eyes moved in an attempt to relocate the memory within her mind that apparently had brought up this place, all she could manage was: "It's . . . From a dream, I think" before she fell silent once more, slumping against a nearby wall as she shook her head. "Why did I have to get dragged into this? I'm not even a Shinobi yet." She would say to herself, before speaking up slightly. "My Kattomori - - - In my home, I have to get it . . ." She would stand now, glancing toward the door as if she expected it to burst open, before turning to Yaju. "How long until morning?" She would then say, suddenly not feeling the desire to go straight home, as it was both dark and mysterious outside, and it would be her luck that the strange dark woman would reveal herself again as she stepped out into it.

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Yaju took each of these questions in one by one before trying to find out where to begin at. Finally after a few moments of thinking he finally spoke," Aufero is a blade that she...Angerona found in these caves moreso the ones underneath this house. That blade...twisted and corrupted her, taking her soul and leaving her as a husk of her former self, but traces of her...anyways, what she wants is nothing less than this. She wants your soul...to turn you into what she is now so that she can purify this world," his eyes looked to the ground for a moment muttering something before falling silent.

His ears perked for a second after hearing her speak about the house being familiar and feeling like sadness," This is where it all started...and ended for me and her," although he would stand up and walk over to her slowly before squatting in front of her," Tell me about these dreams Lexia....what are you seeing...please," he wasn't demanding anything from her in fact he was hoping she would tell him what she had saw. The fact that she could feel the emotions in the house and see things that happened here made him wonder what the connection was.

Standing up he would scratch his head and stand still before blinking," It will be a couple of hours before sunrise....six or seven to be exact. If you want you can stay in the guest room on the left," thinking about the room on the right and who it once belonged to, he would shake his head clear and walk into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water.

Lexia would listen intently to the words of the man before her, frowning deeply as he mentioned the strange sword which had apparently corrupted the girl, and that what she wanted was Lexia's very soul in order to 'purify' the world, and what ever that may entail. She would begin to mutter something under her breath, but she quickly forced herself to fall silent for the moment as she then heard of what this place meant, and what exactly caused the deep feeling of sadness that she felt within this place. Yaju would then ask her to describe her Dreams, something which normally she would not be too keen upon doing, but seeing as this may prove to be a life or death matter, she would begin explaining in a soft tone:

"At first . . . I could only see this strange, black mist. It would whisper to me, saying 'Purity is at hand . . . Can you feel it?' and when I heard the voice, I shivered, it was so . . .  conflicting, it was so calm and kind sounding but, at the same time, I could hear a constant distortion in it as if it were not a human speaking, but some sort of animal. - - - I had a few dreams, where only that would happen, but eventually once I began to close my doors at night and shut the windows, I could see more and more of that girl. She encouraged me to keep making it as dark as I could, and in return she said that she would listen to anything I had to say and that she could make me feel . . . better. She said that she knew . . . She knew how I felt, and how much I was hurting, and that she could make every last bit of pain and loneliness go away if I just made it darker, and darker." There is a pause in Lexia's story now, as she closes her eyes to concentrate on recalling the dream which had led to this very night, it was then that the faint wisp of Darkness was visible upon her lips, it was not as if it were corrupting her or even within her, but almost as if it were a perfume or something of the sort which was left behind. "So . . . Last night, I made it as dark as I could, I covered every last light in the house before I went to bed and then --- And then I saw her, almost as she was when she came here tonight, but she was different, she had longer hair and brighter eyes, she wore a long black and red dress instead of what she was wearing tonight . . . Her voice was no longer distorted by the - whatever it was - and I swear she sounded so . . . So human I just, I felt so strangely drawn to her. I moved just as close as I could without touching her, but before I knew it she took me by the shoulders and -" There is another pause as a faint red colors Lexia's cheek, clearly not wanting to share this far into the story, but, once more deciding it might be important, she continues on.

"She - She said 'Thank You, for making me whole, even if for a few precious moments' before well - she moved me closer and before I could even react, I promise you! - - - She kissed me, it was so gentle and so unlike the woman I saw out there that I can't believe they were the same person, or even fragments of the same person, but I think that she is still inside there, just . . . Just what-ever happened here, it keeps making her come back to the Village, no matter how far she goes, she said that she just keeps coming back 'In the hopes that a heart can save me, rather than a blade' I tried to ask her what she meant, or if I could help, but she only smiled and told me: 'You have already done so much, there is nothing I can ask of you, other than to use the Light within you, when you become able to harness it, and stop me. I would rather be killed by you than another . . . He has already slain me once, I doubt that he would choose to do so again, so please, spare him the pain if you are able and do the deed on your own.' I . . . Had no idea what she meant by that, but it sounded serious." Lexia now took a deep breath, exhaling in a long sigh before she shook her head and began moving toward the guest room.

"Maybe it's best we talk about the rest later, there's only so much I can stand to tell someone -- Even someone who just saved my life . . .  Thank You, by the way, I owe you one." She would say with a faint smile, though a sad look in her eyes, as she opened the guest bedroom door and moved inside, closing it with a soft click behind her as the Darkness outside made subtle hisses, though not apparent threat could be sensed, as it seemed to have given up on its pursuit for the time being.

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Yaju sat on the floor and listened to her story, his head tilted to the side a bit as she began due to it being a little to much for him to grasp but he listened earnestly and hard waiting for anything to stick out at him. The more she began to describe the dream the more he listened, which at first brought a smile onto his face as if he was remembering something that had made him happy at one point in time. It was when she had gave a perfect description of how Yuriko once dressed and how he first met her that his smile became smaller and he leaned in more to listen to her story. He did not know how or why this version of her came to her and talked to her through her dreams and mind....but something about it was making him a bit uneasy.

His smile slowly disappeared as he looked up to the ceiling and began to cry, but oddly enough he was laughing at the same time which had even puzzled him," That foolish girl still trying to think about my feelings in this.. Even if she has changed there's still a smart part of her that still thinks of me as i once was rather than a demon she must slay," he slowly moved to rub his eyes before looking up to Lexia with a straight smile," Thank you...you have probably helped me out more than i have for you, but at least now i know somewhere...she is still in there," standing up he would finish wiping away the stray tears and nodding," I want to help you....both of you so that no one has to die, and she can come back here with a smile. I don't want to force you into the mess that i have created but for Yuriko to come to you in your dreams and request your help.. It must mean there is a way to save her soul. So Lexia...do you want to harness your inner light?," he wouldn't force this on her and he would allow her to make her own choice, but now he would know that he could save her without trying to kill her.

Watching the girl go into her room, he would move into the kitchen and sit at the table looking at the plates that were still out and gave a small smile," I still need to apologize to you...for being an idiot instead of someone you could depend on," the image of the both of them sitting at the table eating replaying in his mind as he slowly leaned back into the chair and whistled the song quietly.

Lexia would stop just before entering the room as Yaju brought to her attention harnessing the Light within her, which both caused confusion and an odd exhilaration as she imagined finally being able to provide aide to another, to possibly even help save this girl's life. It was because of this thought that Lexia would offer a small nod and say simply: "Yes, I want to. I want to help put an end to this . . . Without death." She would then offer a small, reassuring smile before then continuing to enter the room with her last words to Yaju being: "If I dream . . . I will tell you in the morning, hopefully the room is dark enough that I can see her, without risking her appearing here in person. Not just yet."  Lexia would then slink into the room, closing the door softly as Yaju left to the kitchen table.

As Yaju would sit at the table, he could feel a strange air of a familiar presence before him, faint, yet very much there almost as if it were a specter or ghost of some type. If he trained his eyes upon the seat across from his, he could see - if only faintly - the image of Yuriko, with her long hair and beautiful black and red dress, she still however bore the mark of the Darkness upon her in the form of the reptilian slits which replaced her previous round pupils, yet she still attempted to appear very much gentle as she reached across the table and placed a gentle hand upon Yaju's own, her warmth even in this form able to be felt radiating over him as she spoke in a soft, concerned tone: "You intend to fight my other half, my Dark Half, the one which you have faced before, but I assure you that if you were to defeat her in battle it would only create more troubles for the both of us. I will tell you a secret, my beloved, the weakness of any creature of this Darkness; You must show them Warmth, as difficult as it may be for you. You must show her compassion and love, just as you had when I was truly alive in that body, only then will I be able to surface and put my inner-demons aside, only then can I return. She is growing more powerful, Yaju, and soon I fear that she may prove to be too powerful to defeat via any means other than death . . . So please, be cautious." Yuriko's voice echoed softly throughout the room, sounding out the last few words once more before her image faded away into strange particles of soft white light. 

Meanwhile, Lexia would lay herself down upon the bed in the guest room and allow herself to close her eyes, slowly beginning to drift off as she had already made the room as dark as it was possible, allowing herself to be contacted by the strange Darkness which seemed so interested upon her and Yaju. She saw, in place of the girl, the image of a tall woman wearing a black dress, with short blonde hair which was tied into a french bun, and bright amber eyes which reminded her much of a wolves or something of the sort. Beyond these obvious features, the woman was littered with many scars covering the visible portions of her arms and legs, even a few were upon her lovely pale skin of her face, the woman did not speed for a long few moments after she appeared before Lexia, observing quietly. "You are the next Guardian of the blade, You must ensure that it is not destroyed, yet not allowed to fall into the hands of another. If the blade is destroyed, so is the Wielder whom it has bonded with, and if it were to fall into the hands of another, there would be no stopping the power within it." The woman stated firmly to Lexia, sternly gazing into her eyes and demanding her to agree with her stare, as if she knew full-well the repercussions of both of these events first-hand rather than second-hand. 

There was a pause from Lexia as well, awestruck at this new appearance, one that she had never seen before, and nodded softly along with: "I will - I will do what I can, even if I am not even strong yet . . . I will make sure she keeps it, but there has to be a way to stop the power from corrupting here, isn't there? We can't just let her be like this forever - - -" The woman interrupted Lexia, not rudely, but abruptly: "There are ways, but they are ancient and many are lost to time, the only true path at this moment would be to coerce the sword into agreeing upon it's own will, it can be fed other ways than simply souls, a small portion of the Wielder's Blood, or even that of an animal, should suffice to satiate it for a time." With this new knowledge, Lexia would smile, feeling a bit more hopeful at her chances of defeating the sword and reclaiming the girl known as Yuriko's soul. "I understand . . . Thank You, I promise not to let you down . . . " And as she said this, Lexia would close her eyes and begin to fade from her dream, awakening a mere few hours later, before the sun would rise but not too far from it.

With a soft yawn, Lexia would move from the bed and to the nearby door, opening it as she begun to leave the guest-room to the living-room and sitting at any available seat, looking toward the door as if expecting Yuriko or the woman from her dreams to be there. So there she sat, awaiting what may come next.

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Yaju would nod and smile without saying much to Lexia as she disappeared into the room and closed the door, leaving him to his own motions. As he continued to whistle to himself, his eyes shot open and looked around the kitchen for a moment as something had made his heart jump and his mind race. At last he would catch sight of the one he loved, the girl who made him feel so much emotion. Tears streaked down his face as he smiled and tried to reach for her but stopped as she spoke to him. Before she had began he looked to her and lowered his head for a moment," Yuriko...i am sorry for what i did to you. I truly loved you and i did not mean to push you away," his words fading as she continued to speak to him.

Silently he would huff at her words although she spoke the truth since it was difficult for him to ever express himself, but when she told him there was a chance for her to return he smiled and leaned down to kiss her hand as she slowly disappeared," I will get you back without harming you Yuriko...and then i can tell you all the things i couldn't here," knowing now what he must do, he walked out of the kitchen and into the depths of the cave as Lexia slept. Closing the door silently he would lean amongst the walls of the cave and think to himself given the new information how he must go about this and he would need the young girls help to bring Yuriko back.

Yaju stayed outside in the cave for what seemed like hours before walking back into the house and going into his room, leaving the door open just in case and falling asleep flat on his bed. Having another dreamless night, he tossed and turned for a bit before waking up shortly after Lexia and walking down the stairs slowly to see if his guest had been up. Seeing that she was up, Yaju made his way over to the other couch and sat down while scratching his head," So what would you like to do? I assume you would like to go home and fetch your weapon?," he wouldn't say anything but he looked as if he was happy for once, having the answer he needed to make everything right again.

Lexia would look over at Yaju and offer a smile to him, seeing as his mood appeared to be much happier than he had the previous night, something likely having happened to make him in such a state, but she would rather not dwell into the matter further and instead decided to answer his question softly: "Yeah, I think it's about time for me to go home . . . Hopefully she wouldn't come after us in the day-time." At this, Lexia would stand and move toward the door, waiting for Yaju to say or act before she would open it and walk out, moving slowly toward her house as she still felt an odd chill, likely as a residue from the previous events, her eyes slowly looking off into the distance as she envisioned the knight which had appeared to her, if only briefly, in a dream; She had told Lexia that she was to be the blade's Guardian, to ensure that it was neither destroyed nor allowed to be wielded by another, though she knew that if it were to leave Yuriko's hands it would take with it her soul, causing her to perish. 

With a frustrated sigh, Lexia would enter her home and declare to the empty home: "Home, sweet home." before slowly moving toward her room and going to find her weapon, the one which had been handed down through generations before it eventually arrived to her, the only reason she wished to find this weapon was so that she may protect herself if anything were to happen, but she knew that as long as she met Yuriko within her dreams then she would remain alive, it was if she met face-to-face that she would truly be in trouble, as when faced with her directly, Yuriko seemed as if she were another person entirely, which seemed possible given how differently the two sides of her acted. She wondered, after finally finding Kattomori, if the fact that the blade had "Corrupted" her soul, that she had been split in two, in a sense. It was a novel thought, something that she would ponder over the next few moments before eventually sitting down on her bed, placing the weapon in her lap and now simply relaxing, awaiting anything else that may come before she would begin her training once more.

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Yaju slowly watched Lexia get up from the couch to walk over to the door, in which he would smile for a moment," When you are ready for your training you can come back here to this house, i should be here and if i am not just wait in here for a bit and i shall come shortly," before she had opened the door he would nod to her," and don't worry she won't come out with the sun this high in the sky, so go home and get some more sleep alright," watching her walk out he would recline onto the couch and look up to the ceiling still remembering what Yuriko had told him last night which caused him to smile once more almost off of impulse," Soon...we shall be together again my dear," his eyes closing only for a moment as he relaxed in his chair.