RP Stories/ The Blood and the Briar

Vergil, after what seemed some time since running from the Blood Wolves and Reynard's party, he found himself in the middle of an unknown forest, now a bit lost. However, finding that lost Wolf cub was top priority, so he pushed on, listening out intently for a howl or yelp. However, what seemed like a few hours of running, he suddenly heard a faint whimper, as he travelled closer made out that it was not an ordinary animal whimper, but sounds like the one from Bloodmayne's pack. He rushed over, however once in eye shot, he squatted and crawled his way to the pup. Vergil did a faint whistle hoping to get the cubs' attention; the cub hearing it and suddenly sniffing the air, trying to pick up Vergil's scent. After checking the open area in the forest was clear, Vergil stood up and clapped his hands, the cub seeing him and rushing over, Vergil lifting and cuddling the young pup.

"There you are. I have been looking all over for you." The cub licked his cheek as well as give him an affectionate nuzzle. Vergil smiled and looked into the pups' eyes, lifting her above his head, arms outstretched. "I will call you Lady."



Then as he was about to head back to Bloodmayne and the others, he heard a snap of a twig nearby. He lowered Lady under his right arm, and with his left hand, quickly grabbed out the sling Bloodmayne made to hold the pups from his pouch and put Lady into it, slinging her onto his right hip, drew his sword, moving his eyes from side to side, ready to attack if needed.

"Hmm. Must've been just another animal." Vergil said to himself as he now relaxed and started running back, however sword still drawn. Again, however, this time he heard multiple twigs snap quite close to him, the cub also giving a small growl, Lady catching scent of whatever it was following them. So Vergil suddenly stopped, turned around, pointed his sword right at the place where the noise came from, his other hand now on the Elven blade also, ready to draw it, and shouted: "Reveal yourself!"





Frightened off by the loud shout, a curious yearling buck leaped away from Vergil’s outstretched sword, snapping many more twigs on is frantic path to be away from the human. But Vergil did not get a chance to relax, as the fleeing deer was enough of a distraction for someone to step out of magically enhanced silence, grab his wrist and place the cold steel of a knife near his throat. “I don’t like poachers. I especially don’t like poaching of young cubs.” said a cold female voice from behind him. “Are you taking the cub back to her mother, or shall I make you do it at knifepoint?”

 Vergil was quite surprised that he managed to get caught again at knife point. Although this time it was at his throat which meant imminent death, and it was almost as if he was pinned, due to the proximity of to his amazement a woman, as he just managed to turn his head to see who was his captor. Vergil, after managing to turn his head enough with his eyes looked into hers, and gave a surprised but calm look, as he saw the concerned look she had for Lady, and noticing with his peripherals she had some fur on her, meaning could possibly either be another Blood Wolf Bloodmayne didn't tell him about, or there was another Wolf pack out there. Vergil, with a deep breath in and out, responded, still looking her in the eye. "To think I was caught due to a deer. Very clever." He now felt the point pierce a tiny bit more, almost breaking the skin, realising he should choose his words a bit more carefully as she meant business in his eyes. "Well, for starters am not a poacher. Especially of these young cubs. Two--" Lady gives a little yelp, and seeing the woman with fur look down briefly at Lady, Vergil saw a brief opportunity to quickly reverse the hold. After dropping the sword in his right hand, he lightly bumps his lower back into the woman with fur's belly, quickly moves the left hand holding the dagger away from his neck, the knife leaving a slight gash, turns around pinning the woman's right arm behind her back, quickly grabbing her knife wrist, now pointing at her throat, Vergil now behind the Woman, her right arm pinned right up between her back and Vergil's chest, Vergil quietly talking in the Woman's right ear with a slight side smile. "I am planning to return the cub to Matron, however planning to adopt this one as my own and have named her Lady. She ran away while our travelling party were packing to move. Also, apologies for this hold. It's not how I like to treat a lady."



Even with her own knife at her neck, the woman was impressed with Vergil's bravery - most usually froze with fear in that situation, but this one had guts. "No apologies needed.. I am no common lady." Suddenly her torso tipped sideways, dodging under her own blade, before she twisted and rolled downward, away from her assailant's grip - the hold broken, the woman continued the roll, still holding onto Vergil's wrist and yanking him off his feet from the speed of the move. In the time the cub had begun to yip from being tossed around in the sling, Vergil had been thrown to the ground, flat on his back, staring up at the woman watching him from a few paces away.



Vergil, winded for a moment, did not see that coming, and was very impressed with how she countered. 'This was no ordinary woman' he thought to himself, still looking at the woman. However, he wasn't sure what to do, still trying to figure out how he ended up on his back, it happened so fast. He decided not to continue, especially as he did not like getting into conflicts, yet alone combat with women, especially skilled ones, as he has a high respect for them. Vergil then realised there was the cub sling with Lady in it, suddenly once getting his breath back sitting up, head looking down frantically searching for Lady, a look of worry now on his face. Vergil eventually found and grabbed the sling, however no pup. Vergil, looking puzzled and a bit serious, put the sling into his lap, now sitting up. "Hmmm." He now was sitting cross-legged, left arm folded while using his right hand to rub his chin. Then turns to look at the woman. "Well, I guess that ended that. You are quite skilled in close combat. Very impressed. It's not every day a lady like yourself can manage to counter a restraint. Especially from a male captor." Vergil now had a side smile, turning his head toward his lap, eyes closed. Took a deep breath in and out. "However, I am glad Lady didn't get squished at least."

 The woman watched closely as Vergil scurried around searching the clearing for the cub he called Lady. Clearly he cared for the young one very much - his heart was in the right place. "I would never let the cub come to harm. She will be around somewhere. Isi!" The woman called out, and after a few moments the same young buck that had helped her cause distraction earlier. The woman placed her hand warmly on the deer's head, and murmured something to it in a language Vergil couldn't quite place, before the deer headed back into the trees. "Isi will help look for the cub. Not many know it, but deer are as good at hunting as any predator... it's just that deer hunt different prey." The woman walked over, picking up the knife that was dropped during their scuffle and tucked it into her boot. "And as I said - I'm not a common lady. Gender is almost irrelevant in my family - the women fight just as hard, and have voices just as loud as the men."

 "I see." Vergil gets up off the ground, using his left arm as a hoist. Now standing he brushes himself off then walks over to the woman, taking his mask off as a sign of respect, feeling that she could be trusted, and looked her in the eyes stretching out his right hand in the hand shake position, smiled. "The name is Vergil and an honour to meet you. To think would be bested here of all places, especially from a fellow woman with fur."

 The woman shook Vergil's outstretched hand, but did not give her name. Instead, she raised an eyebrow - "You spoke of a "Matron" you would return the cub to... Who is she?" It seemed this woman would not divulge much about herself without her questions answered first.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil, still holding the woman's hand, suddenly felt a bit concerned, as he did not want to say the identity of Matron in case it would endanger her and the Blood Wolf pack. He noticed the eyebrow raised on the woman's head, and felt she could be trusted the way she responded, Vergil squinting slightly as he was trying to analyse threat or friend, and the look he saw and the way she asked seemed as if she knew something. Taking a brief quiet breath in and out, un-squinting his eyes - "I would prefer it not to be spread around the name I am about to tell you due to her and the Packs' safety. Matron is Bloodmayne and she is the leader of the Blood Wolves, whom I have recently become a part of for the time being. She appears to be a Mage of sorts with red hair."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> In quick succession, looks of confusion, recognition, recollection and understanding shot through the woman's eyes.... before a great smile spread across her face. The handshake changed from wary to warm in an instant. "Then it is indeed an honour to meet you, cousin Vergil." She chuckled at Vergil's reaction to the familial term. "I am Jira Katell, Shaman of the Briarwolves." She broke the handshake, took a step back and bowed, and finally Vergil got a clear look at her - dressed in roughly sewn hides, furs and patchwork fabrics, her hair, though tied back, was still strewn with leaves and twigs, and her fingers were stained green, no doubt from the freshly picked herbs and grasses bulging out of her satchel. Jira smiled warmly, her manner completely changed from before, and explained: "We may be two separate packs, from different corners of the land, but all those who follow wolfkind are cousins in my eyes."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> "The pleasure is mine. I see that I have no fur as of yet, as Weiss and Matron do, and of course yourself, however plan to invest in some at some point." Vergil also took a bow, relieved and pleased that she accepted him as almost kin. However as he did so, he felt blood dribble down his neck from the gash, forgetting he was wounded, now feeling the sting the adrenalin had waned off, suddenly feeling a bit faint. He lifted his upper body to a standing position, however started to sway a bit. "If I may would like to know mooore... abou...t th..e... Briar...Wolv - " Vergil then saw his vision go a bit blurry, struggling to focus, and about to fall over due to a bit of blood loss.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Jira swore as she dashed forward to catch the swaying Vergil. Catching him roughly, Jira helped Vergil to lie down before he fell down. "I've got you, I've got you.." She cursed herself inwardly as she realised her knife must have had the residue of scores of medicinal herbs from their harvesting earlier, and those combined residues were now stopping Vergil's wound from clotting. Without knowing what plants were interfering with the blood, Jira knew mundane healing wouldn't do the trick. Supporting Vergil's head in one hand, Jira gently placed the other hand over the wound... And began to sing.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> "W... What are you... doing?!" Vergil heard Jira singing, and suddenly felt an odd prickling feeling on his neck. It reminded him of another mage, Jehane, who had hummed a tune while performing a spell... Suddenly Vergil realised this was magic, and as his wound started to itch and burn he suddenly felt fearful - What if this magic had dangerous side effects?! What if the magic backfired?! Vergil wasn't sure if the numbness in his neck was from Jira's spell or from being paralysed by fear of it. His vision almost black from nearly fainting, Vergil looked up at the blurred block of colour that was Jira, fearful of what this woman he had just met was doing to him... was he wrong to trust her?! With great effort, Vergil managed to stutter the words - "What... are you... doing... to me?"

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Without faltering in her spell, Jira recognised the fear of magic in the man's voice - why people feared it she understood, it can have devastating effect if used incorrectly, and especially by those not well practiced in the arcane... Jira had decades of practice with magical healing and knew exactly what she was doing... but of course, her new friend didn't know that. Nevertheless, she continued her spell - the toxins had to be purged from the wound before she could seal it... just a few moments longer... There!

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jira smiled as her song changed - the powerful chant of her cleansing spell was replaced by a gentler tune meant for healing - she sang softly, trying not to frighten her patient any more than he already was. She just hoped that Vergil would understand and forgive her once this whole mess was over.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Slowly Vergil's vision cleared, his breathing became easier, and the itching sensation eased to a pleasant warmth. Jira's face slowly came back into clear view, and her calm and clear voice somehow reassured him that she had done this many many times before. Though still frustrated that he had let himself become so vulnerable he had to be healed by unknown magic, he felt grateful that Jira had acted so quickly.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> The wound under her hand finished knitting together, both sides of the gash meeting seamlessly as they had before. As her spell came to end and the last few lines of her song were sung, Jira carefully assessed the work she'd done, making sure all had healed successfully. "Here - drink some water." Jira pressed the waterskin into Vergil's hands as she helped him sit up again.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> The spell completed, Vergil sat up slowly and felt his neck - the skin had completely healed and not left a single mark. He may have had fears about magic before.. but with a success like that, Vergil decided that he had better get used to how useful magic could be. Vergil gulped down the water, clutching at the bag, however stopped as some needed to be left for Jira. He put the bag down, wiped his face with his sleeve putting the lid on, and turned to face Jira. "Thankyou... As you saw am not the most comfortable with magic, but it did save my life and for that I give you my thanks."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> "No need for thanks.. After all, it was I who wounded you in the first place." Jira bowed her head in apology. "Still!" she said after a pause. "No lasting damage. As follow up treatment, I'd suggest rest, plenty of water..." Jira looked at something over Vergil's shoulder and grinned. "...and a hug." And right on cue, Isi the deer dropped a squirming and very excitable bundle of black fur right into Vergil's lap.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> "Lady!" Vergil spoke loudly as Lady was licking his face, Vergil hugging the cub, now trying to stop her licking him. After their moment, Vergil put Lady under his right arm while searching for the sling, and once found carefully put Lady into it then went to stand up, using his left arm as a hoist. "I must say, this is one very smart deer." Vergil walks over to Isi and goes to pat his head. "Thank you for finding Lady for me." Vergil smiled as he turns to Jira. "I will do my best to rest up and drink plenty of water." Vergil stretches out his hand in the handshake position, now with another smile. However as he did so Lady started moving around in the sling becoming a bit restless.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Jira shook his hand warmly, smiling at the wriggling cub. "She will grow strong, this one. Be sure to treat her with love and respect, always." Jira glanced over to Isi, quietly standing away from the humans, keeping watch for them in the late afternoon light while they were busy. "As you should with all animals, of course." Jira returned her attention to Vergil. "Now that you have found your charge, will you be heading back to your pack? No doubt the Matron would want to know the both of you are safe."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> The shake finished and Vergil decided to pull Lady out of the sling, holding her in his arms, trying to make eye contact to figure out what she was worried about, as she was quite restless to try and settle her down. "Yes, I think so. Especially as this one - " Vergil looks at the wriggling cub " - is becoming a bit concerned I think. Although this doesn't seem like her, hmm."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> "Hurmm.." Jira furrowed her brow at what could be troubling the cub... she could be injured, or hungry... Jira wouldn't know at a distance, and especially not a cub that was not of her own pack. "May I see her?"

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil looks at the pup, now squirming a bit less, however only because the middle of his arm was holding Lady's in place, Vergil looking deep into Lady's bright blue eyes, almost glowing. They both staring. Lady now panting, her tongue out giving Vergil almost a cheeky look. Then, after about a minute, Vergil had a half smile. "Time to go to Jira, ok?" Lady squirmed and became restless again. "Lady." Vergil says in a more stern voice, the pup still looking Vergil in the eye, pausing and panting, then still wriggling. "Right." Vergil cups the pup in both hands and stretches Lady out to Jira, the pup trying to shake his grip.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Jira chuckled at the sight of the wriggling little wolf. "It seems she doesn't trust me yet, I must smell of magic to her. There's nothing to fear, Lady. I won't hurt you." She held the young cub in her arms, supporting her weight in the crook of one elbow while stopping her from wriggling away with the other hand. It took a few moments, but slowly, Lady stopped her squirming, realising Jira and her magic were not a threat. "That's better" the woman said gently to the cub. "Now, tell me why you're fidgeting so much, little one." Cradling the cub in one arm, Jira placed her hand gently on Lady's forehead... Suddenly Jira's eyes shot open wide, their normal brown hue replaced with electric blue the same colour as the cub's, darting back and forth, seeing things Vergil could not see...

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil, almost stunned couldn't believe what he was seeing. He took a step back, eyes wide open, not knowing how to react in this situation. What was happening? Are her and the pup connected? What are they doing? Baffled and a bit concerned, Vergil asks - "Jira... You ok? Lady?"

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Jira removed her hand from the cub's head, and screwed her eyes tight shut. When she opened them again, the blue had faded back to their usual brown... but her face was painted with concern. The mage took a moment before she spoke: "Lady is perfectly fine - she's a healthy young cub. What I did was look through her eyes, and see what she's seen..." Jira took a breath. "And what she's seen, we must attend to immediately." Jira handed the cub back to Vergil hastily, before tightening the straps on her bag and lashing it closer to her body. "Bundle the cub securely, we must run fast."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil, still in a slight state of shock what happened, shook his head to clear his mind, knowing now is not the time to ask questions. He took Lady and made sure she was securely in the sling before putting his face mask back on. Grabbing his sword he dropped, Vergil sheathed it, patting over himself to make sure everything was secure, now with a more serious look in his eyes. "I am glad Lady is fine. However, looks like it must have been pretty serious what you saw. I would ask but obviously we don't have the time. Let's go."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Isi stood alert at their sudden preparations, ready to move. But Jira would not have it. "Isi, return to the Briar. Tell Alpha to burn yew and ash - we must speak." Cryptic as the message was, Isi understood and fled southward immediately. Jira turned to Vergil, and with determination in her voice, said "We head north." And with a nod, she began to run, following the trail she had seen in Lady's memory.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> With that, Vergil followed, looking down at Lady, Lady looking up at him, as if she knew when he was to look at her. "Let's go see what you got up to in your travels." Vergil gave Lady a chin scratch and followed close behind Jira.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Twisted oak. Dead hazel. Big rock. Creeping ivy on elm. Fallen log. Jira raced past each landmark, never stopping. Hollow ash. Snapped bough. Rabbit warren. Giant oak. She ran with no care for silence - twigs and leaves snapped underfoot on every step, and were snapped again under Vergil's a second later. Thornbush. Termite mound. Oak scarred with blood and claw marks. Jira hoped they'd make it in time.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil was slightly worried that their steps were making a lot of noise, however briefly getting a glimpse of Jira's face, he knew it must be serious. Trees, rocks were all a blur, Vergil now a bit more concerned and focused as he saw the Oak scarred with claw mark and blood. What did Lady find? Whatever it was things didn't look good.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Jira leapt over a fallen log and blazed through a thicket of bracken before coming to a skidding halt - they were here. But Lady's memory was from an hour ago... the scene in front of her was very different. Two wild pigs, each powerfully built and tusks wickedly long... lay dead in the clearing. One's belly was rent open by sharp claws, while the other, though bleeding freely from the deathly wounds around its face, had its tusks stained red with blood that was not its own. Not 10 paces away, another body lay - this one of a she-wolf, bloodied and rent open by the pig's horn. A young wolf's first hunt gone wrong? Or the wolf's defence against boars' aggression? Jira did not know... but the image burned into her eyes.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil suddenly saw Jira had stopped, being a few paces behind, coming also to a skidding halt. He saw what was before him; the two boar carcasses, and then turning his head saw the she-wolf in a bloody mess. A look of concern suddenly hit Vergil and after he panned his eyes left to right to make sure there was no danger, he walked over to the she-wolf, getting down on one knee to inspect the corpse. "Hmmm." Vergil then reaches down to kneeling one knee, reaches down with his left arm and handles the jaw of the she-wolf with his left hand, as he does so, suddenly the she-wolf lets out a murmur, Vergil flinching back up to a standing position, in shock that the she-wolf was alive! "W... Wh... Jira! The Wolf still lives!!!"

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Jira's eyes darted around the scene, trying to put pieces together, when she heard Vergil's shocked stammer. Before he could blink, Jira rushed past Vergil to the wolf's side - she knew she couldn't heal those already dead, but she might be able to save the one still hanging onto life. The wolf's head and shoulders were bathed in red, but Jira had never been afraid of blood. The mage's hands dug into the gash and pulled out the chunk of boar tusk that broke off there. "Vergil, in my bag - the glass bottle with the blue lid." Jira had both hands busy - she was going to need help.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil then snapped out of his shock, a more focused and serious look on his face. "Right!" Vergil rushes over, nerves now out the window. His concern for the wounded she-wolf overpowering his nervousness. He squats behind Jira, throws his hands in, frantically searching the bag for the glass bottle with blue lid. He eventually found it, grabs it, and pulls it out and hands it to Jira. "Here!"

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Jira's off hand grabbed the bottle, and after deftly removing the cap with her teeth, drank the contents in one go. "You thought that was a potion to help her? Oh no, that was a strength potion for me - using healing magic on a soul that is not your own species drains a lot more energy than if they are." The mage's hands pressed over the wolf's wound, a white gold light flaring from under her fingers and the spell began. "Vergil-" she said, the effort of casting magic and speaking at the same time clearly showing in her face - "I will care for the wolf, but you must get back to your Matron immediately - I fear she is in danger."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil, now looking over Jira and seeing the light, froze and stared at it, still trying to grasp the good side of magic, slightly uncomfortable. However, he snapped out of his sensation quickly, stood up, took a step to the side of the Wolf, looking down at Jira, hands on hips. "Is this so? I would like to ask, however it appears that you've got things under control. I will get Lady to sniff Matron out. Let me know how the progress of the healing goes. Are you sure you don't need my help?"

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> "Open your eyes, Vergil! Two wild pigs - BOARS - attacking a she-wolf that now has a MANE of BLOOD." Jira emphasised the words to drive home the point. "Are not the Boar Clans landing in Dalriada soon? If this scene before you is not an omen, I don't know what is." Jira understood that some people did not have as much faith in signs and omens as she did.. but although she hoped she was wrong, Jira never ignored signs this clear. "I will care for the wolf. We will meet again someday, under better circumstances, I hope." She gave a curt nod. "May the Ancestors, or whatever deities you follow, guide you swiftly back to Bloodmayne."

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"> Vergil, stunned by Jira's emphasis on this omen, still felt puzzled as he didn't feel Matron was in danger. "Jira, I still - " Vergil then suddenly cut his sentence short; all of a sudden Lady going into a fit, moving rigorously. Vergil looked down at Lady and to his horror she was almost having a seizure, Lady's eyes turning a very pale blue/ white colour. Vergil wanted to finish, however there was no time as Lady was getting even more violent in the sling. "Jira, I don't know what is going on, but I bloody better get the hell back to Matron!" Vergil then turns around and starts sprinting, yelling in the distance. "I really do hope we meet again in MUCH better circumstances!" And with that Vergil gave a right handed outstretched wave and raced, now holding Lady in his arms, rushing through the forest, no obstacle difficult, hoping that he will come across Matron. And when he thought the worst was over he had a glance down at Lady, now in his arms, she now frothing at the mouth.

"NO LADY! HANG IN THERE PUP!!!"