There had been death and fire, betrayal and justice. All of it ended in heartbreak and mourning. The end of an era and the beginning of a new time. Ochitsuki wished that things could have remained as they had been, but that was not the way of fate. Life was like a flower petal on the waves of the ocean. There was no fighting those waves and you would go under eventually. One just had to wait until that time, but it would come. For the royal Ishii, it would come. It had come.

In the dead of night the invaders had come. Treachery had let the enemy enter the palace with ease and before anyone knew it, her father, the Shogun, had been murdered in his rooms. Her mother had followed moments later. Both died silently and in their sleep which, she supposed was a blessing. Ochi was a realist and she wasn't hampered by the excess emotion that most females were subject to. Better to have died in their sleep than on a battlefield, or in the dungeon of a conqueror's palace. It never should have happened, but the woman was thankful that it was fast.

As the castle woke and chaos ensued, the shogun's daughter who had been asleep in the livestock area as she had been attending to the oncoming birth of her favorite akita, escaped death. Had Ochi been in her rooms, she would have perished just like her family. Instead, she had been the only one to live. One of the many servants found the woman and told her hurriedly that her parents had been killed and that they were looking for her. When Ochi asked of her brother, the servant had shaken her head and ran off. The monochromatic fae hadn't known what that meant, but she soon found out.

As the royal fae made her way through the dark palace, she rounded a corner, coming face to face with her younger brother, Saiki. He smiled wide at her, oblivious of what had happened.  "I let my friends in," he informed her, his tail wagging happily. "They said that they wanted to wake father so we could all play a game together!" Ochitsuki's insides ran cold. Her sweet brother... Everything clicked into place within the woman's mind and she forced a smile, pulling Saiki into her embrace. Saiki had suffered damage to his brain before he was born. The healers had believed that he wouldn't live, but he had proved them wrong. His mind was addled, however. He remained an eternal child. Children were easy to manipulate and it seemed as though this tactic had worked perfectly on Saiki. The boy had no idea what he'd done. He'd made new friends and was just excited to share them with his family. Though he hadn't intended it to be so, there would be no denial that this was treason. Even if Ochitsuki ignored it, the province had loved her father. They would not let Saiki stay alive. With a kiss to his brow, the patchwork lady held him tight. Removing the shortsword from her waist, Ochi sank it deeply into her younger brother's back. It slid expertly between his ribs, piercing hsi heart. She held him against her until his struggles ceased. Tears formed in the fae's wide eyes but she didn't let them spill. There wasn't time. She allowed Saiki to slide to the floor and she left the blade with him. She had done this and wanted there to be no doubt that she'd done so. They would know by the sword. Saiki had not been killed by the enemy. He had been killed by his sister. Whether they decided that she was the traitor that had let the enemy in because of it, she didn't care. The cause of his death and the perpetrator would be known. He deserved that.

Ochi fled her family's province under cover of night and booked passage on the first ship that she could find. The woman took very few belongings, having no time to gather anything. She had grabbed a thick grey cloak and her katana that was supposed to be for decoration only, but was actually a very sharp, very deadly weapon. That weapon kept her safe on the ships that she traveled upon. A pretty female though she may be, the look in the fae's eye and the way that she grasped the hilt of the katana with her dexterous digits made them think twice about touching her.

Hattori Hanzo. The man's father was friends with her own father. They'd met at least once, she was sure. It was no secret that the man had fled his homeland and had settled elsewhere. News traveled and it traveled well to the highborn. There were few left who might remember the transport of Hattori, so the quest was long and hard. Eventually, someone said that they recognized the description and pointed Ochi in a direction. The ship that was taking her to her destination wasn't that great, however. A sudden storm thrashed the vessel to pieces. Ochitsuki clung to the shattered mast for as long as she could, holding onto consciousness as the rough waves battered her about. Eventually, it was all too much and the runaway fae would finally succumb to oblivion.

"Ochitsuki Ishii"

Kotori didn’t need more land to claim as his, not with the current size of his pack.  Kotori didn’t base decisions on what he needed but by what he wanted.  The beach was one spot the wolf had considered wanting to claim in the future.  Perhaps because of growing up in armada with the seas plains he’d gotten used to.  However, he liked this place even better than his childhood home.  The way large animals could be trapped in low tide and become easy food was undoubtedly a nice boon.  Someday he would claim this place and everything the tide brought with it.

Kotori stopped his pace on finding something unexpected in a tide pool.  When Kotori was thinking of the animals he’d found washed in tidepools he hadn’t put wolves in the list of options.  Kotori slowed his stride as he grew closer, not from caution but just taking time to observe the black and white water-logged wolf.  His steps picked up again when he saw her breathe.  

Kotori passed by a sword that probably looked fancy when it didn’t have sand stuck to it and some sort of brown wet seaweed dangling from it.  Kotori had given up the idea of becoming a healer early on in his childhood but common sense advised unconscious wolves shouldn’t be kept in water.  She either needed to get up and walk out on her own or he’d have to drag her.  Cuts were noticed next, but nothing life-threatening.  A cloak was partially attached to a leg, wrapped about to suggest it had fallen and grown entangled.  Who went swimming with their sword?  Who took a cloak in water with them?

Kotori glanced to where the cliffs were and wondered if she’d fallen.  Actually, there were wood pieces here that weren’t last time he visited.  “Can you get up?” Kotori spoke with little care for details of names or how she felt.  First, she gets moved by her power or his own and then he could continue deciding what had happened.  A sword.  Was she a member of the hallows? It wasn’t like Artorias sword.  



"Kotori Fatalis"

There was nothing but darkness. Blackness. Endless oblivion. There were no dreams while Ochitsuki was unconscious. There was just nothing. Perhaps this darkness was a blessing. A mercy. What would she have dreamed of otherwise? The bleeding throats of her parents? The feel of the knife as it sank into her brother's heart? Oblivion was a kindness. A chance for the woman's mind to truly rest and protect itself against the horrors that she'd witnessed and performed.

A voice.

Laying on her side, one eye cracked open, the blue orb blinking repeatedly against the pain in her head. The light above hurt, but not as much as the gash on her brow. The side that was pressed into the sand. The granules dug into her wound like tiny, biting needles and Ochitsuki groaned in pain as she lifted her head from the ground. Sand fell from her face and she grimaced, pearly whites flashing as pain lanced through her skull. Ochi didn't even realize that there was a wolf standing beside her at first. She was too busy trying to decide if she was alive or dead. A few more blinks and a confused look around her and the fae's singular vision landed on an earthen man. Her right eye was swollen shut thanks to the gash above it, so she looked upon him with one orb of purest aqua.

What had he said? Could she move? Ochitsuki blinked again and looked at the ground around her. There was sand, but also water. The back half of her body was submerged in the warm sea. With a grunt and a growl, Ochi tried to lift herself out of the water, but her limbs shook with the effort. Hind paws made it to the edge of the pool and she pushed herself up, but sea legs quickly gave out and she went crashing into the sand with a gasp of pain. Darkness flashed within her mind again. Surely she had a concussion, she thought, before she was unconscious once more.

"Ochitsuki Ishii"

Kotori waited, silent and somber as the woman looked around and got her bearings.  She was most definitely injured but it didn’t look like she was dying.  Kotori looked about again, noticing more stray wooden timbers farther down the beach.  The guess of some sort of ship definitely made the most sense.  Had she been the only wolf on it and if so were the others dead or had they just left her there?  None of the thoughts got to much of his focus at the moment, little details crossed his mind as he watched the woman attempting to move.

She moved, a little and then she was once more asleep.  Even though the wounds might not kill a wolf who had a pack with them, it would be another matter for a loner.  She needed to get the wounds cleaned and bandaged.  The nearest source of fresh water would be the falls in his pack's territory.  Even if he wanted to consider letting her into the Valta land it wouldn’t work.  Dragging her that far wouldn’t do her injuries any good.

Kotori lowered his head, getting his teeth around her scruff.  She smelled of the ocean and blood and tasted of salt.  He could warn her she was about to be moved but the moment he moved her she’d certainly know it.  Kotori waited a moment, then stepped back several strides, pulling the injured wolf farther back from the water before releasing his hold on her.  

“Listen, I need to get some supplies to help you.  Try to stay awake if you can, I don’t know if it's dangerous for you to keep falling asleep.  I’ll make you a fire then leave but I’ll hurry back.”  Kotori would certainly not label himself as a wolf that wanted to help out every poor soul in need but there was something about helping a damsel in distress apparently.  What was a guy to do?  Let her slowly die from a treatable injury?

Kotori jogged higher up the beach, finding drier wood that he was fairly certain could be forced to start a fire. Howling for Splash, the cat was given orders to get supplies ready and to start towards the bay. After some time of running about and grabbing supplies, followed by having to debate with the wood and weeds to light he eventually got a flame going.  More wood was added and after a while, the small fire was eating away at its kindling.  Kotori imagined that would have to do for the time being and with a look at the woman he ran off.  Hopefully, she didn’t try to leave prematurely.

Luckily for the unknown womn, she was near his borders and Kotori found Splash had already gathered up what he had asked for.  Two pelts were wrapped around bandages and some small pieces of tanned hides.  Splash was tying the items together to make them easy to travel and Kotori grabbed a bucket of water to fill up with fresh water at the falls.  Soon enough the snow leopard and Kotori were running back to the beach with what Kotori hoped was enough to get her in better shape.

“I’m back,” he spoke softly as Splash rolled the bundle of supplies off his back.  Kotori cut open the rope that tied them together and plucked out the scraps of hides, dipping them into the water and then moving to her head.  Kotori didn’t bother with pleasantries or asking permission before he started washing the gash over her head.  A memory came to his mind, most unwanted and yet unable to avoid of the last time he had saved another damsel in distress and given her a bath.  His heart rolled over itself at the memory in a way he hadn’t expected.  Kotori’s touch would be gentle, and cautious as he tried to hurt her as little as possible.  The matter-of-fact haughty wolf’s eyes were soft and concerned right now.  

"Kotori Fatalis"

In and out of consciousness Ochitsuki drifted. Once or twice the woman thought she heard voices but she couldn't quite make out the words. In her delirium, the monochromatic fae saw the faces of her mother, father and brother. Their mouths moved but no words could be heard. Within her skull, all she could hear were the waves of the ocean, knocking back and forth.

Mismatched eyes cracked as the woman partially woke. Teeth grit together as she could feel the pain in her battered frame. There was no explaining just how badly her head hurt but Ochitsuki had never felt such pain. Once more she heard a voice and, eyes squinted, she tried to see where it was coming from.

There was a man standing near her. An earthen man with horns atop his head. Ochi tried to listen to his words but all she could really make out was that he wanted her to stay awake. Well, she would try, but it had been out of her control so far. The woman couldn't bring herself to nod for fear of the pain it would cause her already throbbing head, but she stared hard at the brute, meeting his gaze directly with her own.

A fire was next on the agenda and he made it rather quickly. Nestled up against a wall of stone on the edge of the beach, Ochi simply rested while the brute ran off. She assumed that he would be back. Why else make her a fire? The dame tried her damndest to stay awake, though she began to drift a few times here and there. Eventually she had to sit up just to be sure that she wouldn't succumb.

As Ochi sat, her gaze fell upon her katana. The woman's heart began to race. The gods must have been watching out for her to deliver the sword with her to... whatever this place was. As one alabaster paw moved out to scoop the katana towards her, the man returned. The woman slid down to lay on her stomach, the sword pressed into the sand at her side. As he began to clean her wounds, Ochi sat silently. Her throat was so scratchy that she wasn't sure if she was even capable of sound. Orange and blue eyes closed and a sigh was released. She would let him finish tending to her wounds, then she would see about talking. Unless he had questions, that was.

"Ochitsuki Ishii"

Kotori could have called for one of the pack healers to come and help but instead, here he was soaking up and wiping away the blood so that the area above her eye was once again a soft clean white instead of sticky red.  Kotori wasn’t normally the gentle sort but there was something about cleaning up a lady's wounds that seemed to bring out the softer side of him.

He hadn’t missed the fact she had been sitting or that she had pulled the sword to her before lying down when he came up.  A good warrior should protect their weapon, especially if weakened and so that’s what Kotori imagined for her reason to prioritize keeping it close.  A sword was never a weapon Kotori would choose, he preferred to get his teeth into an opponent but, he could respect her for not forgetting it even in her current situation.

“How do you feel?” It wasn’t a meaningless polite question but trying to assess if she would need a real healer.  “Anything feels broken or any type of damage that needs more than to just control the bleeding?  My pack is near here if there is something seriously wrong.  I could allow you entry for emergency treatment.”

There were other questions Kotori had in his mind, ones that nagged at him more but if she died from unknown injuries then any other curiosities really wouldn’t matter.  Still, with the priority asked first he could follow up with other curiosities, “What’s your name, and why were you out at sea?”  He had plenty more questions than that but one thing at a time.  If she was too weak to answer or simply had no desire to talk then asking her questions was pointless.

The earth-toned male really didn’t care much about the lives of most strangers he met but she was different.  He didn’t tend to run into wolves half drowned by the ocean or end up helping any of them with wounds.  Was it the situation then or her looks?  Cleaning a face is one way to get a good look into her bright blue eye or notice the fine lines around the contours of her face.  When the gash over her head was cleaned of the stickier blood Kotori moved to wipe off the granules of sand and salt on her face as well.  A less necessary task but he imagined she’d feel better with all the salt and gritty sand out of her coat, at least off her face.  

"Kotori Fatalis"