Disclaimer I do not own Soul Calibur or any of their respective affiliates
Had this on my Computer for a long time, hope you enjoy.
Irregularity
Chapter I
Twilight
The rain falls with no remorse, drowning everything it touches in its sweet decadence. The young man running across a clearing can feel its suffocating embrace. He thrusts the waterlogged cloak upwards as if to protect the jumbled and bloody mass in his arms. The mass then lets out a whimper letting him know its dire situation. He scans the rock wall before him in an effort to find some relief from this damnable weather.
'Why was she…'
He curses when the mass lets out a high-pitched screech. Eyes quickly dart faster as the sound of thunder becomes prevalent. He then spots a crevasse carved into the mountain by the sheer luck of peripheral vision. The distinct sound of his boots meeting the sodden terrain grace his ears. Beads of sweat slowly trickled across his brow as he runs to close the distance.
The crevasse eventually widened into a small circular space, where miniature stalagmites and stalactites that prevented him from moving further into the already darkened enclosed space. With the light of the pale moon he began to scan the area for bramble and flint but came up empty. All he could do was stand there in the darkened area with a bloodied shivering body in his arms.
Feeling the squirming in his arms, shakes him out of his reverie. He then finds a spot on the ground not covered in sodden earth and sits with the mass held tightly to his body. Much of the body in his arms was covered with thin but deep lacerations. What could have dealt these blows to the young woman bleeding onto his lap? Was this due to…
Grabbing a knife hidden on his person he threw back the hood of his cloak, releasing blonde hair into the night's embrace. He then brought the knife behind his neck cutting off the protective head-wear from his cloak. Scanning her body he calculated the most dire injuries she had suffered and began dabbing at the blood with the damp cloth in his hand. Finding a large gash on the side of her bare midriff he began to apply pressure to the wound, only to find that the gash ran deep and disappeared into the white garment covering her legs.
He then chanced a glance at his cloak and cursed. Deflated he looked out into the rain and back to the form huddled in his arms already on the verge of hypothermia. Her body becomes limp and with that he makes up his mind. Modesty be damned.
A petite young woman knelt in a clearing, the setting sun, fast approaching. She was garbed in a ceremonious outfit consisting of a green blouse-like piece and a lower piece of white silk or cotton that covered most of her legs. The woman tensed as she felt a malicious intent floating in the air overtake her. Brows became furrowed as she knew this presence. What was once caring and embracing, was now replaced with a sort of insatiable hunger. A silent prayer made its way past her lips as she tried to console it.
Sadly this was not to be, as the malicious feeling physically lashed out, leaving a small knick across her cheek. Slowly like a predator the feeling gave off an unusual aura of mockery. It tore at her core that the entity that she had prayed to and sacrificed for, was now lashing out at her. Pleading to the entity once more, she was graced with the wind's sickle scrape entering through her clothing and slashing at her thighs. The priestess falls forward with only a hand separating her from the green grass.
She feels faint as she glances at the copious amount of blood exiting her body. The corrupted voice of the wind enters her ears, staining them with their foul words.
"Just break, there's nothing left for you to do."
"Why are you…" came the wind priestess' response.
"Family slaughtered, village burned to the ground," it taunted.
The young woman struggles to stand and staggers backward as she puts a hand to her heart, her eyes already glistening with tears. She feels a change in the air, as if the wind had yet to deal its final blow. A sound of howling graced her ears, ripping through the wind's cacophony of destruction. Her eyes dart across the landscape to the rock wall near the entrance of the forest and into the setting sun and dark masses above it.
There amidst the twilight of the sun stood an unearthly wolf, strange and unreal markings over its face. A metal cuff on its left front leg and its snarling presence as it lifted its nose in recognition of some unseen force.
The young priestess' last thoughts, before she succumbed to an in between state of consciousness, were that of which the familiar presence the wolf-like creature beheld. It reminded her of the sweet musky smell of the forest and the times when she would journey outside of the village and play near the forest with her faithful companion Alun. Everything turned dark as she stumbled to the floor, free of the wind's choking embrace, but not from the blows that she had gained, and slowly she drifts into a semiconscious state.
She can vaguely hear herself scream as she drifts back into consciousness. The feeling of weightlessness overtakes her as she feels a hand grasping onto her bloodied shoulder. The sound of heavy panting tickles her ear as she is rocked back and forth in a strong embrace.
Clouded eyes gaze far out into the sea of light, jarring her senses.
"Kulti…" sounds an unfamiliar voice.
Her eyes become clear as a tuft of blonde is present to greet her. She brings her head back and soon regrets it as she meets the wall haphazardly and closes her eyes in pain. Feeling a somewhat soft hand on the back of her head she opens her eyes to see the bluest of blue staring at her with concern.
"Sorry, I'm not used to this area's languages." he said while removing his hand from her head and scratching the back of his neck.
"English is fine," she muttered with a weak voice while noticing the slight joy the man had when she revealed this bit of information.
The priestess looks around to see bluish black not to different from the color of her hair, marking the walls and stalagmites littering the enclosed space she found herself in. Her eyes soon refocus on the blonde haired man in front of her, garbed in a assortment of different styled cloths. His attire spoke great volume to her, it let her know that he appeared to be some sort of rancher or farmer from a near village. She was lucky enough that she was so close to civilization in this remote region. Her eyes then drifted off his body and drifted over hers.
Alarmed at her state of apparel she quickly grabs the black cloth to her side and covers herself. Maybe luck wasn't on her side as she noted her bandaged chest and the cloth that protected her most private of regions visible to the naked eye. Frightened her eyes scan the man sitting on the floor across from her, his eyes seemingly oblivious to her current state of undress.
"Why am I…"
"You were freezing, I also had to redress those wounds," he said pointing to an exposed thigh wrapped in black cloth.
"You…"
Her accusation halted as she smelled something to the side of the stranger. It smelled of some type of broth and spice mixed within. She blushed a deep crimson when she heard her stomach growl and saw the approaching stranger with something in his hand. It was a ladle of some kind wreaking of spiced fish and soup. She made a motion with her head as if to deter him, which she soon regretted as her lips met the hand that was clutching the bottom of the ladle.
Giving her an awkward glance he lowered the ladle to her lips and motioned for her to open her mouth. Grudgingly obliging she let the warm liquid trail down her throat. She soon felt a drip of the soup escape across the corner of her lips. She stared in amazement when the stranger just wiped it away with a thumb across her cheek.
"Here take this, its water," stated the stranger pulling a canteen from behind him.
"You lost a lot of blood,"
"Why?"
Hearing this, the stranger became confused.
"Well when you lose a lot of…"
"No, why are you doing this?" she queried pointing to a silver pot behind the stranger.
"You were injured," he replied without hesitation.
Feeling truth in his words she grabbed the canteen in his hand and began to drain it of all its water. Surprising even herself, she went forward and grabbed the ladle in his other hand and approached the silver pot. Something about the calmness he exuded, gave her bravery enough to leave the black cloth on the ground as she continued to consume the soup.
Just as soon as she finished eating, the stranger slumped to the cave floor and gave her a somewhat cold stare. Looking off into space for a while, the blonde stranger reached behind himself and pulled out a green looking garb and started redressing himself in the tunic before the young woman. Surprised, she looked away before seeing a quick image of toned muscle flash before her eyes.
Her breath quickened when she heard the sound of steel being sheathed. Chancing a look at the stranger she was witnessed with a fully clad warrior with a shield and sword strapped to his back. She watched him exit the cave without the pot that she was currently tending to. She saw him falter at the cave's crevasse.
"Don't worry, I won't be needing that where I'll be going," whispered the man looking at floor before him, and away from her.
"Oh and don't bother with Soul Edge," he mentioned, speeding up her heart rate.
"It'll consume you,"
Panicking the young woman looks to the somewhat dry clothing next to the pot and begins to search it frantically. Finding not a trace but an empty silk pouch she gets up and approaches the man leaving the cave. She rushes when she sees him squeeze out of the entrance.
Unaware of her advances, the young man stumbles when he feels his heel dig into stone. To make matters worse he can vaguely feel a hand grabbing onto his shoulder as he falls out of the crevasse into the open sunlight on his back. He feels a foreign pressure against his chest as he blinks away the spots from his eyes. He soon pulls at his hair finding it to be an unfamiliar bluish black. His body soon becomes rigid when he feels a pair of small mounds of flesh against his chest. Looking up he sees clenched eyes and cleavage dancing before him.
Just as he was about to help her get up, that is until he felt a searing pain come from nowhere.
'Damn it'
He saw the cause as he looked down and saw her knee pushing unforgivably against his groin. As if matters couldn't get any worse, he hears chuckling coming from the forest path behind him. Covered in ceremonious clothing of the Shiekah tribe, awaits his traveling companion. Mirth and a hint of something else plays at the sparkle of the warrior's red eyes.
Next Chapter: Journey to Athens