Cold Weather

[Sima Oratio]

The moon was not visible at all tonight. Even if the clouds had not covered it's face, the trees would have surely blocked all light from reaching the forest floor. The snow hit hard tonight, echoing across the forest, and although most of the wind was blocked by the trees, it was still quite heavy amid the forest floor. The wind was loud, so loud in fact that it made hearing anything almost impossible. The snow continued on for hours, and the forest appeared dead because of it. Many of the animals had found shelter from the snowfall, and so despite the large excess of winds the forest seemed quite motionless. That all ended however when the sound of a young man's scream was able to pierce the repetitious notes that wind made against the trees. The screaming, was clearly one of pain, and it did not desist, the screaming seemed to continue for a few moments. When the screaming did stop, the forest continued to remain silent as if nothing ever happened, shrouded among the wind and snow.



Sima's body was shivering, he was not cut out for this anymore was he? "I-I have to become stronger.." He spoke to himself, although the wind was so loud it appeared as if nothing left his mouth other than steam. Sima's hand was halfway through a tree, and although it was hidden inside the trunk, there was enough to blood seeping for anyone to notice that his hand was certainly not stronger than the tree. Sima, despite having no quest for power before was beginning to think of it as a necessity. "Why am I so weak!” He screamed, pulling his hand from the tree. As his hand retracted, all that could be noted was the immense amount of splinters embedded into his arm, leading up to his hands.



Sima was not only bleeding from his arm, blood seemed to pour from his legs as well, easily visible through the many cuts and tears on his clothing. His shirt was torn, and although the cause for this damage was his own doing he still was angered at this.



His shirt was so torn it revealed the extensive amount of damage to his muscles, and his extremely high body heat was beginning to take form in steam that danced around the top of his skin. As the snow fell down from head to toe, it ran from the top of his chest, down to his abs melting upon contact of his skin, in which it detailed both the shape of his body, and the amount of damage he had done to it. His chest seemed to be damaged for worse from what appeared to blunt impact.



He gritted his teeth in anger, red sparks emitting from his body. However, the anger seemed to subside as his arms dropped to his side, the sparks retreating from whence they came. The melted snow had kept his black hair sticking to his skin, his blue eyes peering out from under the darkness. His blue jacket, looked completely drenched, and his pants were sagging in weight. These were perfect training conditions for Sima previously, and this would have never phased him. However, now Sima was freezing, and drenched, exhausted. This training regiment was so difficult now. Sima was not affected by age, but having the power that could rival a god, and having it stricken away was a hard thing for him to deal with. At first Sima thought that it was a good thing. However, without that power, he realized during conflicts that he was no longer able to control outcomes so easily. This frightened him. Sima was trying to learn a new strength, but it seemed far out of his grasp now.



Sima turned from the trunk, taking one step forward before collapsing momentarily. His hands were shaking, both from the pain he put them through, the physical torment of training that would brake any hardened veteran. This training was not meant for mortal men, and when his body began breaking down from physical stress, his anger met it's match against a tree. The battle scars were the splinters he received.

[Deleted]

It was cold, however it felt nice to have her aching body numbed by the winds cutting through her thick fur. Her large paws acted like snow shoes allowing her to transverse on top of the snow with little effort. With a night as dark as this she had no need to cloak herself in invisibility. Her dark red fur and even darker stripes camouflaged her just as well. The forest was silent besides for one sound that was carried by the wind. Her ears perked forward as she turned her head in the direction of the wind. Her nose lifted to the breeze which not only carried the sound but a scent….

She changed direction and headed against the wind towards the sound. Aria calmly skirted around the damage, surveying it all. With how little light there was remaining unseen was fairly easy, she finally came to a stop next to the tree in which the man’s hand was stuck halfway through. The red sparks each momentarily illuminating the large tigers form sitting calmly and upright next to the tree. She did not twitch a muscle or a whisker, her dark form would be quite easy to miss. Aria remained like this until Sima collapsed, at which point a soft orange gold glow began to be emitted from her eyes and slowly from her body. She took one step forward into the clearing, tendrils of light stemmed from her glowing form to wrap around the surrounding plant life, spreading until the whole clearing was alit with the soft glow. The large tiger turned her head and surveyed the area, as bit by bit the plants awoke from their dormant state and began new growth to repair the damage that had been done to them. As each one repaired the light would dim as each plant was put back to sleep.

When the clearing was repaired the glow diminished, leaving the tiger just staring down at Sima’s broken form. Her familiar blue green eyes holding a look of understanding. She had not healed him…nor would she unless asked. However if he did collapse fully she would drag his sorry ass back through the woods to Lilith. Until then she would stay and watch over him, he did not look as though he should be left unsupervised.

[Sima Oratio]

Is first question was. Who is that? Curiously he thought about it. Her scent, was smelled almost as immediately as she got here. Sima stood to his feet breathing heavily. He quickly turned his eyes in direction of the scent. If it didn't get the message that he knew her rough direction, then what did? He shook his hands lightly only really to test how they responded when he told them to move. How exhausted they were, how the muscles ached with movement. Sima didn't know if he should try and speak, they just kind of appeared and seemed to be waiting. He shivered lightly, knowing he should probably find shelter, before restoring his energy. 

Sima looked around curiously as the place appeared to illuminate. He followed his nose peering onto a tiger. His eyes casually watched the damage he caused be reversed. What was that? That was no regular tiger, the scent, it was so familiar. It was not a scent a tiger would have. He slowed his breathing, keeping himself from showing pain he walked forward towards the large animal. It seemed that if it had wanted to attack it would have done so already. Sima continued to walk up to it, unless it moved away he would stop. If however it allowed him closer he would continue to walk up to the creature, with caution of course. Sima raised an eyebrow once he approached the creature. He was exhausted, and frozen, but curious, he would put those needs on hold for this curiosity. "Who are you? I know that scent, so if you were really just a large animal than you wouldn't have such a unique scent." Sima's nose was strong enough that something like ink, a very strong scent, actually hurt his nose. 

Sima raised his hand keeping his body language non threatening. "Roses?" He sniffed curiously in the air, easily recognizing that specific scent. "So, you have a human form?" This didn't seem absurd to ask, considering he had more than one form himself. "I really hope this isn't considered crazy here" Sima grumbled, thinking there was more than enough weird stuff going on to make these questions appropriate. 

[Deleted]

Well, he seemed to have snapped out of maiming himself. She calmly sat back on her haunches with her tail wrapped around her large paws. Allowing him to approach. Her blue green eyes watching, he was cautious…and curiously still had not figured out whom she was. The tip of her tail twitched at the mention of not being just a normal animal…at this point a normal animal would have smelt his wounds and taken him down for easy prey. There was a shift in her form, as he shrunk slightly and took on a humanoid appearance. She kept her think red fur which covered her body, and her ears remained that of a tigers. However at least in this form she could converse; though the full tiger form was considerably warmer.

She sat down in the snow, her tail draped across her lap as she looked up at Sima, her hands crossed over her chest. Aria looked up at him calmly; he would not be out here unless he had a reason.

”Blue eyes, what are you trying to accomplish here”

Her voice was soft and calm, she let the wind carry it so it could be heard. Blue green eyes which seem to glow in the dim light she had provided stared up at Sima. It would seem she appeared for him when ever there seemed to be an issue. In fact that seemed to be when she appeared for most people. 

[Sima Oratio]

Sima clearly made out who it was when she began to transform into a more humanoid appearance. When she spoke, asking what he was trying to accomplish Sima felt confused making an answer to her. He felt like a small child with a not so significant problem. Sima groaned in a slight anger. "I am training.." He huffed, his body heat still high enough to emit steam. Sima used his hand to try and wave the steam away, but thanks to the high temperature that did nothing but dissipate it for a moment. I'm nothing but a fragment of my former self, " Sima explained. "I thought perhaps training would help me regain my previous strength, but progress is slow."
Sima's eyes scanned Aria's form, curious about the appearance. "Can you not go back to your actual form?" Sima didn't really let the cold bother him, especially since his body heat was irregularly high, an after an extensive workout he frankly didn't feel cold at all. 

Sima's stomach began to growl, and he quickly placed his hand on his chest. 'i apologize.." Sima blushed lightly with a smile. "Do you have any food on you by the way?" Sima was hoping he could refrain from hunting something down for lunch. Sima knew that she more than likely had nothing on her, but he was exhausted. His muscles were sore, some torn, his bones were stressed from pressures that they should not be under. His back ached from lifting weight they were not meant to lift. Sima sat down for a moment, then let himself fall back, his bare back hitting the snow. The snow quickly began to melt away, but it felt amazing on his back.

[Deleted]

Aria picked at a claw as she waited for an answer, her ear twitching when he answered that he was training. She remained quiet as she waited for a reason, her eyes softening in understanding. Most fated whom had been taken away from their homes lost their powers. She understood the frustration.

”I too am not at my former strength, however abilities are not everything….that and from what I understand if one pushes oneself to hard the recovery takes longer and progress is lost. You push yourself to hard blue eyes. Why the rush?”

She tilted her head when he asked if she could not revert to her normal form. Was he uncomfortable with her looking like this? She figured it would have been less awkward.

”I can”

She did revert fully into her human form, however it was clear as to why she hadn’t in the first place. She was bare and her porcelain skin was covered in dark bruises, the most noticeable one was a deep black bruise that covered the expanse of her abdomen. Her long hair draped over her thing hour glass frame. Providing little warmth from the bone chilling temperatures.

”This form is merely inefficient for keeping oneself warm. Does the other form bother you?”

She shook her head when he asked her if she had food, she had nothing on her. She hadn’t really been eating more then what was necessary lately. So she didn’t have anything to nibble on, that and well tigers didn’t have pockets.

”On a lighter note, how has your restaurant been doing?”

[Sima Oratio]

Sima's face completely light up as it became apparent at her obvious nudity. "Uhh!" He blushed, trying to keep himself from looking. "Perhaps you should go back to that form.." Sima tried to get her nudity off of his mind, but now that he had seen it it found itself stuck in his head for a few minutes. He sighed, bringing his eyes back to hers and averting his gaze from her nude body. "Aria, no the other form does not bother me, in fact I think I would prefer it from now on.." Sima chuckled lightly, it was hard not to find this situation comical. "My body used to take far much more damage then what I put on it, It's difficult to deal with frailty. My bones have never snapped before, my muscles never teared. I could throw building sized items with nothing but a glance! This is like I am a child now." Sima groaned, looking into Aria's eyes curiously, refraining from glancing down at her body. 

Sima got up from the ground, his back dripping in water. The body had cooled down enough to stop the steam from emitting from his body, it still was warm enough to keep him content in the cold weather however. "The shops doing well enough, It's just a little quiet lately." Sima added at the end of it, but Sima was making enough to cover his expenses, and make profit. 

"And, Aria, I need to push myself hard because If I don't have the strength to protect the ones I love, then what kind of man am I?

[Deleted]

Aria shrugged, as she transformed back into her half tiger state, the fur offering her modestly once more. However his reaction was slightly amusing, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her unclothed before at the springs. At least it had lightened the mood. Her eyes held understanding, and also a deep sadness, being too weak to protect the ones you loved was something she faced fairly often. She looked down at her lap, her ears lying flat on her head and her eyes averted from looking at Sima. Suddenly she seemed even smaller, her tail which was back wrapping even tighter around her.

”Bad things happen to good people….you can’t always protect the ones you love…no matter how hard you try”

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

”The most you can do is try, weak or not…. seek solace in the knowledge that you are not alone.”

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

”Take it from someone who knows, if you rely just on yourself then often one ends up failing. Then you’re just a stubborn man who refuses to see the many paths that lie before him. Knowledge is a powerful tool my friend, one which still can be used when brute strength fails. What is it your trying to protect your loved ones from?”

[Deleted]

Sima thought about the questions and answers she provided. "I'm just trying to protect them from the future.." Sima knew it sounded bad, the way he felt pressured to gain power. He had failed before, and now that action had made him wish to never fail again. "Is it wrong to want to protect them from future events? From future dangers, if I can even become half of my previous power I will be able to rival everyone in this world.. Then I can protect everyone that is dear to me, and I don't have to worry about them becoming hurt again. You understand that want don't you?" 

"I understand what going too far can do too, I've seen many men power hungry, and I know that will never be me.." Sima groaned feeling that maybe he himself never understood what exactly he was protecting them from. 

"Aria, did you have to protect someone?" Sima asked trying not to push if it was sensitive for her. 

"I have many times, but, in my world I was protecting them from me." Sima looked at her, his blue eyes looking quite sad."[/b] 

Sima felt that it was the scariest thing to fail it. Hurting the ones you loved with your own power, having no control over doing so, and wishing that you could tear that power from your skin. However, now the terms seemed to have changed. 

[Deleted]

”Blue eyes I know that feeling well, but you can’t protect them from everything…if you do you stop them from finding their own strength. You’re going to drive yourself to insanity if you try.”

Aria was talking from experience, she had felt very much the same as Sima, in fact she still felt the same way at times. However life tended to be a bitch when it came to teaching lessons. She looked up at him with eyes filled with hurt, and inner turmoil clearly able to be seen.

”Yes, I have and had many that I need to protect…and I’ve tried and failed many times.”

Aria placed a clawed hand on the side of her face where there would have been a scar had it not been covered by her fur.

”The most I can do is to continue trying, and take the bad as it comes.”

Aria stood and walked over to Sima and placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. She understood where he came from. Perhaps this was the reason she had been drawn to blue eyes to begin with that time that he had fallen through the ice. A kindred spirit? Well none the less it would seem now would be a good time to hike back into town and get him some food. She could swing by a hidey hole she had about, and grab some extra clothes.

”We should head back, some food will make you feel better. Now who is it your trying to protect?”

[Trésor de Lys]

Breaking through the trees, Tres came to a clearing that revealed a blanket of snow broken by the tracks of what seemed to be a tigress and a person. The snow nipped at her cheeks, making them a bright pink, she gathered warmth from her gloves and jacket, as well as her knee-high boots. This allowed her to walk easily in the snow.
 She crouched down, her eyes lurking across the field. Her eyes rested on the two, once she caught a glance of them- Tres became use to being the hunter rather than the hunted- her eyes were a piercingly bright hazel. The two, from what she could tell, seemed to be chatting, almost relaxed though recovering... But from what? She decided to figure out. 

She approached the two silently, the snow catching any sound she made. From behind the half-tigress, she listened, then smiled recognizing the voice and brilliant hair colour of her friend Aria- though the man in front of Aria was a mystery to Tres. "You should listen to her, blue eyes. Recovery takes a toll, but it builds strength." if Aria looked behind her she would see a familiar face, Tres would offer the most sincere half-smile if she looked her way.

[Sima Oratio]

Sima was slightly confused when someone new entered the area. This person was as persistent as Aria it seemed at telling him to slow down with his training. "I know that my style of training is extremely harsh on the body, but I can also tell you I have never seen better results from any other training method." Sima sighed, trying to defend himself if only slightly. "Who is this Aria?" It actually offended Sima that this newcomer decided to use 'blue eyes' like Aria did. It was something he was used to with Aria, no one else had ever called him that before. It threw him off slightly. "By the way she's looking at you I get the feeling you know her." Sima stretched, his bones cracked and stressed as he stretched them. This was painful, his body had been put through a physical trauma, and was very sore. 

Sima was not too surprised of this persons arrival, he had smelled them a few moments ago, before they decided to approach. In fact, Sima almost missed it. The winds certainly were mixing scents around a lot, the wind flow being much heavier than usual. "Is it all right if we walk and talk? I want to get a new pair of clothes as soon as possible." Sima did have a habit of destroying his clothes, and also he felt quite dirty after such a workout. 

[Deleted]

Arias ears twitched as she heard the snow crunch as someone approached. She looked back for a moment to see Tres, she nodded a greeting before turning back to Sima who was defending his way of training. Aria tilted her head to the side, looking at him curiously….

”But you said you lost a lot of your abilities when fated over; would it not make sense then that you must also account for your body being different when training, for what would work for you then might not work for you here. A weaker body needs a different set of rules, after all you cannot expect a fish to climb a tree as well as a monkey now can you?”

Aria motioned for Tres to come closer, it was good to see her out and about. She seemed to be adapting to things well.

”Blue eyes, this is Tresor; Tres this is Sima. Yes I know her, you both met me under …well I guess similar situations. How have you been Tres, my apologies for not being able to check up on you…unfortunately shortly after you started staying with me I was put in chains.... ”

Aria nodded when Sima asked if they could keep moving, the need for clean undestroyed clothes was something that she understood.

”Yes though I’ll make a detour to a hiding spot of mine that I keep extra clothes in for myself. Tres your welcome to join us, I’ll pay for a good dinner for us. Along the way you can fill me in on what you’ve been up to since I’ve left along with why that nut job with the bird managed to steal all my belongings while you were staying in my cabin.”

[Trésor de Lys]

When Aria nodded in recognition of Tres' arrival, her smile grew into a cheek-to-cheek grin. It was nice to see her again.
Tres could sense how uncomfortable this Sima character was with her. Obviously he would be having never met her, but it dad make her laugh. As he explained his training methods, she couldn't help but snarkily laugh a little. She could tell how much of a toll his body took just by giving him a quick scan, his body was not ready for that kind of intensive training he was talking about.
When Sima addressed Aria as if Tres was not there, she rolled her eyes. But as Aria introduced them, she extended a hand to Sima who acknowledge that he wanted to walk around. "Pleasure to meet you... Sima." if Sima took her hand, she would help him up gently, ensuring that no pain is inflicted on him.
Tres would then offer the same to Aria and provide the same if she accepted. In response to Aria, Tres looked down for words then smiling at her feet, she stood with confidence in the crunching snow. Tres began moving forward. "Don't worry about it Aria, I understand that you were a bit... tied up." she paused "I have occupied my time while you were away. I left your cabin shortly after you were taken away. Didn't feel productive locked up in the middle of no where." Tres paused a moment... Then looked curiously at Aria, "Oh him? What was his name... Louie? He must have broke in after everyone left. He must have teleported in somehow, because I never heard him coming.He did come up behind me with a cloth that was soaked in something. It knocked me out instantly. I woke up the nest day, he had stolen linens and kitchen ware as well as some lunar flowers- but that was to be expected." she looked down in shame "I left shortly after that. I felt so ashamed having not defended your home... I'm sorry."
Tres then looked at Sima, for a recovery "So, Sima, is it? How have you gotten yourself into this sticky situation? I don't recall ever meeting you." she mentioned.
She decided to tag along, trudging through the snow with Blue eyes, and Aria.

[Deleted]

Sima looked at Aria, and he couldn't help but fall silent for a moment. "You make a lot of sense Aria.. The look on his face was one with a bit of shame for his actions. He knew his body would crumble under the pressure of his power, but he also knew he wouldn't regret dying using that power. As long as that power was used to do something he deemed important. 

"Your right Aria, I should perhaps invent a new training method.." Sima wasn't prepared for this world, not in the least. His blue eyes opened in curiosity as Tres started to speak.


"Oh, I 'm sorry.. Where are my manners.." Sima reached his hand out to meet Tres' using her hand to help himself up, perhaps putting a little more weight onto her hand then he would have liked. "It's nice to meet you as well Tres." Sima spoke up feeling like he had lost his manners.  He could here Tres' words about what had happened to her, but he wasn't sure if he should make a comment on her situation, best let her and Aria talk right? That was none of his business.

"How did I get into this situation? Well, I walked here.." Sima wasn't quite sure what sticky situation she was talking about. This was how he trained, nothing more, nothing less. However, was she talking about how he got into Teair? That was a different story in itself.